Investors queue up for MNC pharma companies; GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Pfizer rise

Investors were seen flocking to the counters of select MNC pharma companies which have emerged as defensive bets amid choppy market conditions for last few days.

Low debt and huge cash on their books have made pharma shares attractive to investors, after RBI increased benchmark interest rates by more than expected 50 bps on Tuesday, according to analysts. Among notable gainers, Pfizer touched its 52-week high of 1,636.2, before closing 2.6% up at 1,508.4, while GlaxoSmithKline Pharma rose 3.4% to 2,379 on the BSE on Thursday.

A few other stocks like Aventis Pharma and Wyeth also scaled their yearly peaks intra-day but came off on profit-booking at higher levels to end 2.8% and 0.2% down, respectively. Most of the counters attracted volumes in thousands, partly because of a low floating stock and also due to lack of wider participation of investors in trading.

Contributed by Vijay Gurav, Deeptha Rajkumar & Nihar Gokhale