Indian share markets witnessed most of the selling pressure during closing hours and ended their trading session deep in the red. All sectoral indices ended on a negative note with IT stocks, telecom stocks, and auto stocks losing the most.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 690 points (down 1.9%) and the NSE Nifty closed down by 198 points (down 1.8%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down 1.8% and the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down by 1%.

Note that last Friday, the Sensex closed at 35,965, just a little shy of the 36,000 mark.

Incidentally, the Sensex closed at almost the same level - 35,963 to be precise - at the end of January 2018.

But are the broader markets also back to the levels they were in January 2018?

The 10-Trillion Rupee Gap Between the Sensex and the Broader Markets

The rupee was trading at 70.24 against the US$.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was up by 0.5% and the Shanghai Composite was down by 0.8%. The Nikkei 225 was down 1.1%.

In the news from the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel share price was in focus today. The stock of the company witnessed buying interest after the company on Thursday set up a committee to explore options to raise funds to strengthen its capital structure.

Apart from the above, the company decided to sell a 32% stake in Bharti Infratel to its wholly-owned subsidiary Nettle Infrastructure Investments. This is done for potential monetization of the stake in future.

The telecom major also announced the appointment of Badal Bagri as the Chief Financial Officer, with effect from March 1, 2019.

Moving on to the news from the pharma space, Aurobindo Pharma share price was in focus today after the company said that it has received final approval from the USFDA to manufacture and market potassium chloride extended-release tablets, 8 mEq (600 mg) and 10 mEq (750 mg).

The product will be launched in January 2019.

In another news, the company's wholly-owned subsidiary - Helix Healthcare B.V, Netherlands, has entered into an agreement with Shandong Luoxin Pharmaceutical Group, China (Luoxin) to establish a joint venture (JV) company in China with manufacturing facilities to manufacture nebulizer inhaler and other products for China, US and EU markets.

Aurobindo Pharma share price ended the day down by 1%.

Speaking of pharma sector, note that the BSE Healthcare Index has been on a roller coaster ride in the past few years. The period from 2012 to 2015 saw the index go up more than three times.

We believe that pharma companies that invest in creating a pipeline of complex generics or building competencies in alternative dosage forms are better equipped to tackle the changing dynamics in the US generics market as well as in the overall industry.