Stay away from pharma stocks amid India-US uncertainty: Mitesh Panchal

Sebi-registered analyst Mitesh Panchal on Thursday told Business Today that the pharma sector continues to face a fundamental overhang due to tensions between India and the US.

"After the recent correction, many stocks are available at attractive prices, but given the prevailing uncertainty, we are not considering any positions for now. Any positive or negative news could swing the stocks sharply in either direction, and stop-loss levels would have to be wider," he stated.

The market expert advised investors to avoid the sector for the time being and wait for the situation between India and the US to stabilise, recommending staying away from pharma stocks across large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap segments.

Recently, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to stock the Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve (SAPIR) with critical drug components.

Under the order, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the Department of Health and Human Services will develop a list of about 26 critical drugs and prepare the SAPIR repository to store and maintain the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) needed to produce them.

The ASPR is tasked with securing a six-month supply of these critical APIs. The order also directs the ASPR to update the 2022 list of 86 essential medicines and propose a plan to acquire and store a six-month API supply for those drugs.