 "Weekly: Aggressive bets ruled this week")
The benchmark Nifty and the Sensex rallied 2.4-2.6 per cent through the week on hopes of a revival in the economy amid a regime change at the Centre. The market remained exuberant over prospects of a Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government, perceived as pro-business and reforms.
The market started the week on a cautious note, as investors were wary of weak monsoon projections and concern about the crisis in Ukraine. Subsequently, however, an uptrend was seen, led by banking and financial stocks.
A sudden rally on Friday amid a spike in volumes on bourses set off buzz of probable leakage of exit poll data, officially slated to be announced on May 12. On Friday, the 30-share benchmark Sensex, after breaching the 23,000-mark in intra-day trade, closed at 22,994, an all-time high. The 50-stock National Stock Exchange Nifty, too, closed at a record high of 6,859, after seeing an intra-day high of 6,871. (WEEKLY PERFORMANCE)
The India VIX, a gauge of market volatility through the near term, based on option prices, rose 9.9 per cent to 37.7, indicating the impending volatility in the run-up to election results.
During the week, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and Coal India hit their respective 52-week highs.
“The Sensex notched a smart rally on the last trading day of the week to end firmly in the positive zone. Unmistakably, the focus remains on the approaching D-Day—-May 16—-, when the election verdict will be announced. But even before that, the market will react to the exit polls numbers, as these start trickling in once the final phase of polling is completed on May 12. Sector-wise, the market behaviour was in line with the pattern seen in the past few weeks—-cyclicals gained at the expense of defensives,” said Dipen Shah, senior vice-president (research), Kotak Securities. The sentiment got a boost after the rupee strengthened against the dollar, as the Indian currency breached the 60/dollar mark.
Sectors & stocks
During the week, L&T (up 6.33 per cent), ONGC (up 5.66 per cent) and Coal India (up 4.58 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers, while Bharti Airtel (down 4.8 per cent), HDFC (down 2.67 per cent) and Sun Pharma (down 0.96 per cent) were the top losers.
Banking stocks led the rally, with HDFC Bank gaining 5.6 per cent to Rs 757.20, while Axis Bank jumped 6.6 per cent to Rs 1,631.50. ICICI Bank hit its 52-week high on Friday, rallying 9.82 per cent to close at Rs 1,374.85 for the week.
Information technology stocks edged lower on a strengthening rupee and a downgrade by UBS of the sector bellwether Infosys to ‘sell’ rating. Its target price was slashed to Rs 2,750 from Rs 4,050, citing a longer than expected turnaround. TCS and Wipro slipped two-three per cent during the week.
Eye ahead
Now, investors will focus on Monday’s exit poll results, which will set the direction for the future. They will also track the Consumer Price Index for April and the Index of Industrial Production for March, slated to be released next week.
“We believe…cyclical stocks are the best to play in current markets. Our top picks are Axis Bank, State Bank of India, BPCL, L&T, Tata Steel, Maruti and TVS Motors. The Markets will continue to be in a momentum ahead of the exit polls and the real outcome on May 16,” said Rahul Shah, vice-president (equity advisory group), Motilal Oswal.
The market started the week on a cautious note, as investors were wary of weak monsoon projections and concern about the crisis in Ukraine. Subsequently, however, an uptrend was seen, led by banking and financial stocks.
A sudden rally on Friday amid a spike in volumes on bourses set off buzz of probable leakage of exit poll data, officially slated to be announced on May 12. On Friday, the 30-share benchmark Sensex, after breaching the 23,000-mark in intra-day trade, closed at 22,994, an all-time high. The 50-stock National Stock Exchange Nifty, too, closed at a record high of 6,859, after seeing an intra-day high of 6,871. (WEEKLY PERFORMANCE)
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For the week, the Sensex surged 590 points, while the Nifty rose 164 points.
The India VIX, a gauge of market volatility through the near term, based on option prices, rose 9.9 per cent to 37.7, indicating the impending volatility in the run-up to election results.
During the week, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and Coal India hit their respective 52-week highs.
“The Sensex notched a smart rally on the last trading day of the week to end firmly in the positive zone. Unmistakably, the focus remains on the approaching D-Day—-May 16—-, when the election verdict will be announced. But even before that, the market will react to the exit polls numbers, as these start trickling in once the final phase of polling is completed on May 12. Sector-wise, the market behaviour was in line with the pattern seen in the past few weeks—-cyclicals gained at the expense of defensives,” said Dipen Shah, senior vice-president (research), Kotak Securities. The sentiment got a boost after the rupee strengthened against the dollar, as the Indian currency breached the 60/dollar mark.
Sectors & stocks
During the week, L&T (up 6.33 per cent), ONGC (up 5.66 per cent) and Coal India (up 4.58 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers, while Bharti Airtel (down 4.8 per cent), HDFC (down 2.67 per cent) and Sun Pharma (down 0.96 per cent) were the top losers.
Banking stocks led the rally, with HDFC Bank gaining 5.6 per cent to Rs 757.20, while Axis Bank jumped 6.6 per cent to Rs 1,631.50. ICICI Bank hit its 52-week high on Friday, rallying 9.82 per cent to close at Rs 1,374.85 for the week.
Information technology stocks edged lower on a strengthening rupee and a downgrade by UBS of the sector bellwether Infosys to ‘sell’ rating. Its target price was slashed to Rs 2,750 from Rs 4,050, citing a longer than expected turnaround. TCS and Wipro slipped two-three per cent during the week.
Eye ahead
Now, investors will focus on Monday’s exit poll results, which will set the direction for the future. They will also track the Consumer Price Index for April and the Index of Industrial Production for March, slated to be released next week.
“We believe…cyclical stocks are the best to play in current markets. Our top picks are Axis Bank, State Bank of India, BPCL, L&T, Tata Steel, Maruti and TVS Motors. The Markets will continue to be in a momentum ahead of the exit polls and the real outcome on May 16,” said Rahul Shah, vice-president (equity advisory group), Motilal Oswal.