Markets end volatile week with marginal losses

Markets were volatile for most part of the week on account of derivatives expiry, US second quarter GDP data and anticipation of quantitative easing two by the  federal reserve.

The Sensex started the week on firm footing but profit taking in IT stocks after lower than expected Wipro results weighed on the benchmark, the index  pared gains partly and closed at 20,303, up 137 points on Monday. Markets ended in the red for three straight sessions as investors trimmed positions ahead of futures and options expiry, Sensex shed almost 1.3% in three days (tuesday to thursday). The indices made a smart recovery in the last leg of  the trade of Friday bouyed by better-than-expected results by nations largest private sector bank - ICICI Bank. The Sensex eventually ended the week with a loss of 134 points at 20,032.

Further, the Sensex and Nifty ended October 2% lower.

Markets globally were also weak, Most of the Asian markets also ended in the red. Strengthening Yen loomed on Japan's exporters. Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.8% to end at 9202.45. South Korea's Kospi declined 1.3% to 1882.95 on Friday but ended the month higher by 0.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped down 1.3% and China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% on Friday.

Investors in the US  traded minimum as they dialed back expectations of cheap money flowing into their economy and the impact of US elections. The markets ended the month on a flat note. For the month S&P 500 gained 3.7%, while the Dow advanced 3.1% and the Nasdaq jumped 5.9%.

According to the technicals, positive end in India has thrown some light at the end of the tunnel. "The close of the week has thrown up some hope. The correction which was expected is playing out and it may last for some more time. A short term recovery looks very likely, the medium term technicals remain positive," PINC Research said in their weekly note.

BSE IT index was the top loser for the week, down 2.8%. Financial Technologies dived 13.9%, Wipro dipped 6.4% and Oracle Financial Services was off 5.1%.

BSE Realty was also one of the top losers on an expected rate hike, Indiabulls Real Estate fell 8.5%, HDIL declined 7.1% and  D B Realty dropped 6.3%.

BSE Consumer Durables surged 3.7% as they were lead gainers for the week. Titan Industries zoomed 10.7%, Gitanjali Gems soared 13.8% and Rajesh Exports spiked 10%.

BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell over 1% during the week. From the midcap space Rashtriya Chemical Fertlizer declined 10.5%, Punj Lloyd dipped 8.1% and Petronet LNG fell 12.5%. From the smallcap space, JMD Telefilms shed 16.1%, Petronet Engineering was off 12.7% and Orchid Chemicals declined 11.5%.

On the Sensex Wipro was the top loser for the week as investors punished Wipro shares after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform following lower-than-expected results. On the Sensex JP Associates fell 4.3% and NTPC declined 4.4%. ICICI Bank was the top gainer, up 2.6% after Q2 earnings beat forecast (19% rise in net profit), Mahindra and Mahindra surged 4.4% and Cipla gained 2.2%.