After opening the day on a negative note, Indian share markets continued their downtrend throughout the session and ended lower.

Benchmark indices fell tracking weak global cues while domestic inflation data added to the pressure.

Retail inflation in India remained above RBI's 6% upper tolerance band for the second straight month in February 2023. Government data on Monday showed CPI pegged at 6.44%.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 338 points (down 0.6%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 111 points (down 0.7%).

Titan, BPCL, and L&T were among the top gainers today.

Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, and M&M on the other hand were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,949.5, down by 85 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a negative note. The BSE Midcap index fell 0.5% and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.9% lower.

Barring capital goods, all sectoral indices ended on a negative note with stocks in the IT sector, auto sector, realty sector, and power sector witnessing heavy selling.

Shares of Sonata Software 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 negative note.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei ended lower by 2.2%, while the Hang Seng fell 2.3%. The Shanghai Composite ended lower by 0.7%.

The rupee is trading at 82.48 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading lower by 0.3% at Rs 57,485 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.7% at Rs 66,210 per kg.
 

Why Cipla's share price is falling

In news from the pharma sector, shares of Cipla hit a fresh 52-week low today after the company reportedly came under the lens of the income-tax department over potential tax violations and tax avoidance.

The tax department is investigating alleged wrong claims made by the drug major worth Rs 4 billion (bn) under Section 80-IA and alleged wrongful deductions worth Rs 13 bn claimed for Research and Development.

The company had earlier said there is no claim or demand made on them.

Cipla is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and the largest Indian exporter to emerging markets.

During the initial Covid-19 phase, Remdesivir and Favipiravir were the two drugs that were in high demand.

The two direct beneficiaries were Cipla and Glenmark Pharma as they have a big presence in the market for the said drugs.

So it should come as no surprise as to why Cipla's share price is rising. Individual stocks turned into multi-baggers. But the boom did not last.

A key focus area for Cipla currently is its respiratory segment. Cipla has a huge respiratory portfolio.
 

Glenmark Pharma receives USFDA approval for generic antibiotic drug

Moving on, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday, received approval from the US health regulator to market a generic antibiotic drug.

The company has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for Clindamycin Hydrochloride Capsules, a generic version of Pfizer's Cleocin capsules.

According to IQVIA sales data for the 12 months ending January 2023, the Cleocin Hydrochloride Capsules achieved annual sales of around US$ 33.6 million (m).

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is a global pharmaceutical company with a presence across specialty, generics, and OTC businesses.

Glenmark occupies a leadership position in the Indian market for the discovery of new molecules.

In 2023 so far, shares of Glenmark are down by 16.1%. While in the past five years, the stock has experienced a fall of 22.3%.

It is amongst the top 4 pharma stocks in India
 

Adani Group stocks are under pressure, once again

Moving on, shares of all Adani Group companies slipped today, with four of them hitting the lower circuit limits.

NDTV, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, and Adani Power hit their 5% lower circuit.

The stocks witnessed selling after the Finance Ministry on Monday said in the Lok Sabha that Hindenburg Research's report had no impact at significant impact at the systematic level.
 

Global Surface IPO subscribed 77% on Day 2

Moving on to the news from the Initial public offerings (IPO) space, Global Surface IPO was subscribed to 77% on day 2 of the bidding process.

The Rs 1.6 bn public issue of Global Surfaces, the engineered quartz manufacturer, has received bids for 5.9 m equity shares against an offer size of 7.7 m shares.

So far, retail investors, as well as the high net-worth individual portion, were subscribed to 108% and 106%, respectively. Qualified institutional buyers have bid for 1% shares of the portion set aside for them.

The offer comprises fresh issuance of 8.5 m shares and an offer-for-sale of 2.6 m shares by selling shareholders.

The price band for the issue, which closes on 15 March 2023, has been fixed at Rs 133-140 per share.

With fresh issue proceeds, Global Surfaces will provide finance to its subsidiary Global Surfaces FZE for setting up a manufacturing facility for engineered quartz.

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