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Nifty Pharmaceuticals Index Feels The Heat In 2016

Nifty Pharma set to post its highest year to date losses in eight years.

A worker makes notes in the medical storage facility. (Photographer: Martin Divisek/Bloomberg)
A worker makes notes in the medical storage facility. (Photographer: Martin Divisek/Bloomberg)
Nifty Pharmaceuticals Index Feels The Heat In 2016

The NSE Pharmaceuticals Index is on track to clock its worst yearly performance in eight years. The index looks all set to snap its 4-year gaining streak, and post the biggest yearly loss since 2008.

Looking back, 2009 and 2010 saw the NSE Pharma index rally 59.12 percent and 35.32 percent respectively. It did contract by 10 percent in 2011, but clocked gains of 31.88 percent in 2012.

It was similar story in 2013 and 2014, with the index gaining at least 26.51 percent each year, and posted gains of 9.26 percent in 2015.

This year though, the index looks all set to end with losses of around 12 percent year to date, the highest since 2008.

Eight out of the 10 stocks on the index may end the year in the red, and leading the chart is Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The counter which has a weightage of 29.63 percent within the index has been one of the worst performing stocks, losing 21 percent, year to date. Only Piramal Enterprises Ltd. and Cadila Healthcare Ltd., have managed to buck the trend.

Analysts attribute this fall to a whole host of factors, like more warning letters from the U.S. FDA over manufacturing practices, and the ongoing anti-trust probe initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice on price collusion. The Indian government's demonetisation drive may have also added to their woes.