After opening the day marginally higher, share markets in India witnessed volatile trading activity and are presently trading in green. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note, with stocks in the realty sector and stocks in the auto sector witnessing maximum buying interest. While stocks in the metals sector are leading the losses.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 95 points (up 0.3%) and the NSE Nifty is trading down by 16 points (down 0.2%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.2%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.3%. The rupee is trading at 64.81 to the US$.

In news from the GST space. Under pressure from the government to pass on the gains of GST cut to customers, several consumer goods players have reduced prices of products sold through the modern trade formats, such as big retail chains.

Companies such as Dabur and ITC have announced price reductions of 8-10 per cent and 10-40 per cent, respectively. But players such as HUL and Patanjali are still working out the details on several products, although duty cuts were effective a week ago.

The FMCG industry is one of the major industries to benefit after the GST council revised tax rates lower for a wide range of categories.

On November 10, the GST Council reduced tax levied on 178 items, including deos, detergents, shampoos and chewing gums from 28% to 18%, effective November 15. But the inability of companies to immediately share the gains with consumers prompted the government to write to them.

Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairperson Vanaja Sarna wrote to FMCG companies asking them to immediately revise MRP on all products in line with the latest reduction in GST rates.

GST's Impact on Aam Aadmi's Spending

As we have saying, GST is a much-needed economic reform. It should eventually expand India's narrow tax base and increase government revenues.

That said, every coin has two sides. GST is no exception. It has had its fair share of chaos in the months immediately post its implementation from 1 July 2017. Many businesses reported depressed earnings due to the transition to GST.

Our colleague Vivek Kaul has studied the finer aspects of the GST and predicted what could go right and wrong.

Download his special report - The Good, the Sad and the Terrible (GST)

Moving on to news from stocks in the pharma sector. Strides Shasun share price is among the top gainers today.

The surge came after the company announced that it that its wholly owned subsidiary received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), for marketing Acetazolamide tablets in the US.

Acetazolamide tablets are used to prevent and reduce symptoms of altitude sickness. They are a generic version of Diamox tablets.

Citing IMS sales data, the company said Acetazolamide tablets and generic equivalents had US sales of approximately US$ 53 million for the 12 months to September 2017. It added that the product is ready for an immediate launch and will be marketed by Strides Pharma Inc in the US.

At the time of writing, Strides Shasun share price was trading up by 0.6%.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has come under a lot of regulatory pressure in the past few years.

The sector has faced great volatility over the years.

We had written about the current predicament of Indian pharma companies in one of the premium editions of the 5 Minute WrapUp:

• Over the past few years, risk in the US markets has increased. The US Food and Drug Administration has become stricter on products entering US borders. Surprise inspections have increased and companies are being issued warning letters. This has impacted the business and earnings of Indian pharma players, causing major volatility for the sector.

The list of pharma sector woes is long. So, is there light at the end of the tunnel? Girish Shetty, Research Analyst thinks there is.

As per him, it doesn't make sense to paint all pharma stocks with the same brush. The leaders of the industry will certainly survive this phase. There are interesting, niche pharma stocks that are worth your attention.

Facing pricing pressures in the domestic and export markets, currency fluctuations, as well as manufacturing issues related to their plant, there is a transformation happening in the overall sector as to how business is done and will be done in the future.

At the time of writing, SBI share price was trading down by 0.6%.