Indian share markets traded on a positive note throughout the day and ended higher, tracking strong cues from global equities.

Benchmark indices edged higher, tracking gains in Asian peers amid hopes that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak in China may have passed.

Gains were largely seen in the FMCG sector and IT sector, while power stocks witnessed selling pressure.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 350 points (up 0.9%) and the NSE Nifty closed higher by 93 points (up 0.8%).

The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down by 0.3%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended down by 0.1%.

Asian stock markets ended on a positive note amid hopes that the worst of the coronavirus in China may have passed. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was up 0.9% and the Nikkei was up 0.7%.

The rupee was trading at 71.34 to the US$ at the time of writing.

Market participants were tracking Bodal Chemicals share price, Hindalco share price, and IRCTC share price as these companies announced their December quarter results today.

In news from the pharma sector, shares of Sun Pharma Advanced Research slipped in early trade today after the US health regulator rejected the company's cancer drug application.

The company on Tuesday said it has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for the new drug application (NDA) for Taclantis (Paclitaxel Injection Concentrate for Suspension).

As per the USFDA, a CRL is sent to an applicant if the agency determines that it will not approve the application or abbreviated application in its present form.

Meanwhile, Dr Reddy's Laboratories has announced an agreement with Wockhardt  to acquire select divisions of its branded generics business in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives for a consideration of Rs 18.5 billion.

The agreement comprises a portfolio of 62 brands in multiple therapy areas such as respiratory, neurology, VMS, dermatology, gastroenterology, pain and vaccines.

Wockhardt will transfer Dr Reddy's related sales and marketing teams and the manufacturing plant located in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh with all plant employees.

Dr Reddy's Lab share price ended the day up by 0.5%.

Speaking of pharma sector, co-head of research Tanushree Banerjee talks in great detail about pharma sector in the video below. She tells us where the sector stands now and also about the potential for a rebound.

Watch Now...

Video Length 00:08:13

Moving on to news from the insurance sector, as per a leading financial daily, the Union Cabinet is likely to approve the merger of three state-owned general insurers - Oriental Insurance company, National Insurance company, and United India Insurance company.

The merger of the three entities is expected to improve their operational efficiency, solvency ratio and profitability.

In 2018-19, former finance minister Arun Jaitley had proposed a merger of the three insurance companies, and listing of the single entity on domestic bourses.

However, as per reports, there has been a delay in the merger process as finances of these companies are not strong.

The centre has already infused Rs 25 billion into the three state-owned insurance companies via supplementary demands for grant earlier this year.

According to the budget document, Rs 69.5 billion will be infused in these three companies next year.

In other news, the domestic life insurance industry registered strong growth in January, led by strong performance in both individual as well as group categories.

Data from Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) showed that the industry achieved first-year premium collections worth Rs 206.2 billion in January compared to Rs 174.2 billion in the same month last year.

Total annualized premium equivalent (APE) for the industry stood at Rs 102.9 billion in January, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 41%.

The growth in January was led by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) which saw its APE at Rs 58.3 billion, a YoY growth of 79%, while private players saw their APE at Rs 44.6 billion.

Speaking of the life insurance sector, this is one sector which is a clear outperformer in this volatile market.

Shares of the three listed life insurance players have outperformed the BSE Sensex by a huge margin.

With the huge future potential of the sector, the outperformance is not surprising. India's life insurance penetration i.e. insurance premiums as a percentage of GDP, is very low compared to the global average.

Life Insurance Sector - Megatrend in the Making

The industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11-13% over the next five years. India's large youth population and growing awareness about insurance is bound to accelerate growth.

This is a megatrend which is here to stay for a long, long time.