Stock markets in India are trading higher on firm rupee and positive global cues. Gains are largely seen in realty stocks and power stocks.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 175 points and the NSE Nifty is trading up by 74 points. Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index both are trading up by 1.2%. The rupee is trading at 71.81 to the US dollar.

Pharma stocks are trading on a mixed note with & being among the top gainers. As per an article in a leading financial daily, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has successfully completed inspection at Lupin’s Nagpur facility, Maharashtra, India.

The inspection concluded without any observation. This inspection was a product-specific pre-approval inspection.

Lupin’s Nagpur facility is the company’s latest site and manufactures Oral Solid Dosage products. The site also houses Lupin’s state of the art injectable manufacturing facility.

To know more about the company, you can access to Lupin’s Q1FY19 result analysis and Lupin’s 2017-18 Annual Report Analysis on our website.

Speaking of pharma stocks, the rupee’s recent weakness has pushed up the BSE healthcare index, which was (26% down) at the bottom of the market for the past three years. However, the index has been the top performer in the past month and is up 11%.

In the past three months, the BSE healthcare index has gained as much as 23%. In comparison, BSE Sensex is up about 9% during the same period.

Among the individual stocks, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, and Glenmark Pharma outperformed the index by gaining in the range of 24% to 36%, while Divi’s Laboratories and Lupin were up 13% and 10%, respectively.

Beating the Benchmark

In such an environment, it makes sense for investors to be selective while buying stocks. Focus on value and the underlying fundamentals of the business.