Indian shares hit 1-week low as pharma drags

Indian shares touched their lowest level in about a week on Wednesday, pressured by pharmaceutical stocks and a 2 per cent fall in shares of oil-to-chemicals conglomerate Reliance Industries.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended down 0.56 per cent at 17,898.65 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.52 per cent to 60,008.33. Both indexes touched their lowest since November 11.

Leading losses, the Nifty pharma index fell 1.3 per cent to touch its lowest level in nearly three weeks, after Strides Pharma Science and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals fell around 3per cent.

Reliance and Axis Bank, weighed the most on the blue-chip Nifty 50, falling about 2per cent each.

The Nifty Energy index, a sub-index of oil and gas companies such as Reliance, Indian Oil Corporation and Adani Transmission, fell 0.5 per cent after crude prices declined.

Auto stocks, bucked the trend to rise 0.71 per cent, helped by shares of Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki India.