 "Markets continue to gain for fourth straight week")
Markets edged higher for the fourth consecutive week, though the benchmark indices closed in the red through the last two trading sessions, retreating from record highs amid profit booking. The markets snapped their intra-week winning streak after foreign investors sold index futures worth Rs 591 crore ($97.9 million) and stock futures worth Rs 677 crore on Thursday, exchange data showed.
During the week, crude oil prices fell. This is good news for India, as a lower crude oil price will help address fiscal woes and narrow the country’s current account deficit.
For the week, the 30-share Sensex gained 289 points, or 1.46 per cent, to close at 27,027, while the 50-share Nifty added 132 points, or 1.67 per cent, to close the week at 8, 087. Broader markets continued to attract sizeable investments through the week. The mid-cap index rose four per cent, while the small-cap index gained 3.5 per cent, continuing their outperforming trend.
During the week, the European Central Bank (ECB), at a governing council meeting in Frankfurt, reduced all three of its primary interest rates by 10 basis points. Vinod Nair, head (fundamental research), Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd, said ECB’s new stimulus measures would benefit equity markets across the world, especially emerging markets. Considering the improvement of India’s fundamentals relative to emerging markets, the markets here would benefit from the stimulus, he added.
The rupee, which closed at 60.39 a dollar, recorded its fifth consecutive weekly rise.
On a weekly basis, the only pocket of disappointment among the BSE sectoral indices was the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) index, which fell 0.6 per cent.
The consumer durables, capital goods, information technology and health care indices were the top gainers, rising three-five per cent.
During the week, banking and automobile stocks underperformed, with gains of a per cent each. In the previous week, these were among the top gainers.
Among Sensex stocks, Cipla gained the most, rising eight per cent after the launch of anti-asthma metered dose inhalers in Germany and Sweden. Bharti Airtel was the other major gainer, up eight per cent after the company said its subsidiary had signed an agreement to acquire over 2.7 million subscribers of yuMobile.
Hero MotoCorp, Larsen & Tubro and Axis Bank, up five-six per cent, were the other notable gainers.
FMCG major ITC and HUL ended down one per cent each. Metal majors Tata Steel and Hindalco slipped 0.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. ICICI Bank, HDFC and Bhel, down 0.5-seven per cent, rounded off the list of losers.
Week ahead
Power and metal shares will be in the spotlight, ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision on coal block allocations during 1993-2010, scheduled for Tuesday.
Investors are likely to focus on consumer price inflation for August and data on the Index of Industrial Production for July, due on Friday. Also, the markets will take cues from their global counterparts reacting to the US jobs data, to be released after market hours on Friday.
Oil prices, at about a 14-month low, will be tracked closely. Any further correction will be an added positive for Indian markets. Geopolitical risks will continue to weigh on market sentiment.
During the week, crude oil prices fell. This is good news for India, as a lower crude oil price will help address fiscal woes and narrow the country’s current account deficit.
For the week, the 30-share Sensex gained 289 points, or 1.46 per cent, to close at 27,027, while the 50-share Nifty added 132 points, or 1.67 per cent, to close the week at 8, 087. Broader markets continued to attract sizeable investments through the week. The mid-cap index rose four per cent, while the small-cap index gained 3.5 per cent, continuing their outperforming trend.
During the week, the European Central Bank (ECB), at a governing council meeting in Frankfurt, reduced all three of its primary interest rates by 10 basis points. Vinod Nair, head (fundamental research), Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd, said ECB’s new stimulus measures would benefit equity markets across the world, especially emerging markets. Considering the improvement of India’s fundamentals relative to emerging markets, the markets here would benefit from the stimulus, he added.
The rupee, which closed at 60.39 a dollar, recorded its fifth consecutive weekly rise.
On a weekly basis, the only pocket of disappointment among the BSE sectoral indices was the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) index, which fell 0.6 per cent.
The consumer durables, capital goods, information technology and health care indices were the top gainers, rising three-five per cent.
During the week, banking and automobile stocks underperformed, with gains of a per cent each. In the previous week, these were among the top gainers.
Among Sensex stocks, Cipla gained the most, rising eight per cent after the launch of anti-asthma metered dose inhalers in Germany and Sweden. Bharti Airtel was the other major gainer, up eight per cent after the company said its subsidiary had signed an agreement to acquire over 2.7 million subscribers of yuMobile.
Hero MotoCorp, Larsen & Tubro and Axis Bank, up five-six per cent, were the other notable gainers.
FMCG major ITC and HUL ended down one per cent each. Metal majors Tata Steel and Hindalco slipped 0.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. ICICI Bank, HDFC and Bhel, down 0.5-seven per cent, rounded off the list of losers.
Week ahead
Power and metal shares will be in the spotlight, ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision on coal block allocations during 1993-2010, scheduled for Tuesday.
Investors are likely to focus on consumer price inflation for August and data on the Index of Industrial Production for July, due on Friday. Also, the markets will take cues from their global counterparts reacting to the US jobs data, to be released after market hours on Friday.
Oil prices, at about a 14-month low, will be tracked closely. Any further correction will be an added positive for Indian markets. Geopolitical risks will continue to weigh on market sentiment.