India's Nifty hovers near 10,000; Biocon slumps 6%

Indian shares fell for a third day on Friday, dragged lower by healthcare stocks such as Biocon following U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 10 observations to the company's Bangalore plant.

india trader
Reuters

Indian shares fell for a third day on Friday, dragged lower by healthcare stocks and financials.

At 0630 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 0.29 percent to 32,145 while the broader NSE Nifty declined 0.14 percent to 10,000.

Healthcare stocks led the losses. Dr. Reddy's fell 3.6 percent, Aurobindo Pharma lost 3 percent while Sun Pharma declined 2.7 percent.

Biocon plunged 6 percent on getting 10 observations from U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Bangalore plant.

S&P BSE Bankex Index also fell 0.1 percent, pulled down by Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank.

Housing Development & Infrastructure lost 6.2 percent after the National Company Law Tribunal admitted petition of insolvency proceedings against the company.

Tyre manufacturer Ceat declined 7 percent after its first-quarter net profit slumped about 98 percent.

Shares of Ramco Systems and Kokuyo Camlin slipped 5.5 percent and 8 percent, as the companies reported losses in the quarter ended June 30.

Among the gainers, Indian Oil Corp jumped 5 percent. The state-owned oil refiner reported a 45 percent fall in its first-quarter net profit, but beats analysts' estimates.

Market breadth was in the favour of losers, with about 2 stocks declining to every 1 stock that advanced.

Meanwhile, stocks in Asia inched up ahead of U.S. job data later in the day.

The Labor Department's closely watched employment report will probably show that non-farm payrolls increased by 183,000 jobs last month after surging 222,000 in June, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

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