After making a flat start, Indian share markets fell sharply during closing hours and ended lower for the second straight session.

Benchmark indices witnessed selling at the fag-end of the session as investors digested amendments to Finance Bill, 2023.

Besides, selling in US index futures and European markets also weighed on the sentiment.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 398 points (down 0.7%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 132 points (down 0.8%).

Cipla, Kotak Mahindra, and Infosys were among the top gainers today.

Bajaj Finance, Adani Enterprises, and Tata Steel on the other hand were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 16,915 down by 169 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended the day on a negative note. The BSE Midcap index fell 1.3% while the BSE SmallCap index ended 1.4% lower.

Sectoral indices ended the day on a negative note, with stocks in the metal sector, realty sector, telecom sector, and energy sector witnessing selling pressure.

Shares of Siemens and Cyient hit their 52-week high today.

Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using the stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...

Outside the home ground, Asian share markets ended on a lower note.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei ended 0.1% lower, while the Hang Seng declined 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite ended lower by 0.6%.

The rupee is trading at 82.45 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.5% higher at Rs 59,858 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.9% at Rs 70,830 per kg.
 

Zen Technologies win big order

Defense training solutions firm Zen Technologies, on Friday, bagged a Rs 1.3 billion (bn) order from armed forces.

After setbacks faced in 2012 due to the cancellation of large tenders, they stopped participating in large tenders and have now made a complete turnaround over the last ten years.

However, the company believes that the next few years will be extremely positive, and it anticipates the signing of several more significant contracts soon.

Zen Tech believes that it will play a significant supporting role in the government's prestigious Agnipath initiative and efforts to modernize training. The induction of simulators into the armed forces is an example of this.

With the government's support, Zen is confident that it will continue to thrive and contribute to the country's progress.

The group is the sole manufacturer of simulation training equipment and anti-drone systems in India. Basically, it's one of the top companies in the exploding drone market.

In 2023 so far (between 1 January 2023 and 2 March 2023), the stock has rallied 57%.

With a 57% rally so far in 2023, it is among the top-performing smallcap stocks of 2023 so far.
 

Lupin bags USFDA nod for generic medicine

Moving on to news from the pharma sector, the share price of lupin rose 0.4% after the company received tentative approval from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA), obeticholic acid tablets.

It is used to decrease the production of bile in the liver and increase the removal of bile from the liver.

The approved ANDA is a generic equivalent of Ocaliva Tablets of Intercept Pharmaceuticals.

According to IQVIA MAT December 2022 data, Obeticholic Acid Tablets had estimated annual sales of US$ 255 million (m) in the US.

Lupin is a leading pharmaceutical company from India and is among the top 10 generic companies in the world.

Lupin, one of the top pharma companies in India, is losing its shine and has fallen it fell sharply in 2022. 
 

Emami's share buyback approval

Moving on to news from the FMCG sector, The board of directors of Emami on 24 March 2023 approved a buyback plan worth up to Rs 1.9 bn through the open market route.

The board gave the nod to buy back 4.1 m equity shares of the face value of Re 1 each at a maximum price of Rs 450 apiece.

The maximum buyback size represents 9.94% and 9.99% of the aggregate of the total paid-up equity share capital and free reserves of the company.

The company will utilize at least 75% or Rs 1.4 bn of the amount earmarked as the maximum buyback size. Further, the company will utilize a minimum of 40% or Rs 744 m of the amount earmarked for within the initial half of the six months of the opening of the Buyback.

Emami is one of India's leading FMCG companies engaged in manufacturing & marketing personal care & healthcare products. Emami is the flagship company of the diversified Emami Group.

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