Indian pharmaceutical equities surged on Monday, bucking a bearish trend across the wider Dalal Street.

The Nifty Pharma index climbed 1.65%, driven by aggressive buying interest in large-cap names despite a retreat in the benchmark Nifty 50 index.

The rally was broad-based, with shares of Cipla, Divi’s Laboratories, Laurus Labs, Alkem Laboratories, and Sai Life Sciences also posting gains exceeding 2%.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Mankind Pharma emerged as the standout performers, each advancing more than 3%.

The rally was broad-based, with shares of Cipla, Divi’s Laboratories, Laurus Labs, Alkem Laboratories, and Sai Life Sciences also posting gains exceeding 2%.

The sector’s outperformance highlights a rotation into defensive healthcare plays as investor sentiment cooled elsewhere.

The divergence underscores growing risk aversion in the broader Indian market.