The Sensex and Nifty opened in red on Friday as the Nifty 50 extended its losing streak, slipping below key levels for the fifth consecutive session. The index has already given up more than half of the 1,000-point rally it had witnessed since the August 29 lows.

The Nifty Pharma index dropped sharply by 2.42 per cent, touching an intraday low of 21,445.50. Sun Pharma slipped 4.87 per cent to a new 52-week low of Rs. 1,548, while Gland Pharma fell 4.70 per cent to Rs. 1,880. Biocon was down 3.68 per cent at Rs. 342.85. Other leading pharmaceutical companies, including Laurus Labs, Ipca Labs, Divis, Zydus Life, Alkem Labs, Cipla, Ajanta Pharma, Dr Reddy's, Torrent Pharma, Abbott India, and Glenmark, also ended lower in the range of 0.8 to 3.2 per cent.