Pharma, FMCG stocks buck the downturn

MUMBAI: When you take a look at theequity markets, the year 2008 has been nothing but gloom and doom in nearlyevery direction. And with the Sensex back under 15K, all the gains from thephenomenal year-end bull run of 2007 have been wiped out.However,there are still a few bright spots on the horizon. A handful of stocks,particularly from the pharma and FMCG sectors, have managed to beat the generalsliding trend. These scrips have managed to register decent year-to-date gains,which are more significant when taken against the current backdrop, where a hostof domestic and international factors are working against the equity markets. Sowhat is it that is driving these stocks northward? Market players say that thesesectors are a defensive bet, meaning investors could invest in these sectorswhen all others are on a slippery ground. There has been a trendreversal with last year's momentum winners witnessing sharp declines and thefocus has returned to fundamentals, they added. Fund flows from FIIs and MF wasreason for last year's rally, which led to buying in certain sectors.