Weekly market: Indices regain key levels

Markets regained their psychological 20K and 6K marks this week on higher tax payment by companies. Investors also cheered the decision taken by a major steel firm to take-over another company in the same sector. Sensex ended at 20,073 - up 209 points (1%).

Nifty ended at 6011.

The combined advance tax payment by top 100 corporate taxpayers rose 18.7% to Rs 27,531 crore in Q3 December 2010. Advance taxes, based on the taxpayer's projected earnings, gives an indication of the industry's performance in the months to come.

Markets moved up marginally on Monday, after giving up early gains on dissapointing news from Asia. Markets in Asia was nervous due to the continued violence in Korea.

Tuesday saw the markets gaining on the back of buying in metal, banking and realty. Metal prices in the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at two-and-half-year highs.

A ministerial panel may meet by end-December on diesel prices, Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan said.If the price of diesel is hiked, it will offset an expected decline in wholesale price inflation arising from a favourable base effect.

However, Sensex slipped on Wednesday as investors booked profits in select index heavyweights. Global cues also dampened sentiments.

The benchmark indices had a rather dull session in the absence of any triggers on both the domestic and global fronts on Thursday. With the marginal gains in the IT and banking sectors being negated by the pressure on the auto and metal indices, the Sensex hovered around the 20k mark throughout the session. The metal space saw profit-taking after the upmove witnessed in the recent past.

On the macro-economic front, the food price index rose 12.13% and fuel price index climbed 10.74% in the year to December 11. In the earlier week, annual food and fuel inflation had stood at 9.46% and 10.67% respectively. The primary articles price index was up 15.35% in the latest week compared with an annual rise of 13.25% a week earlier. And oil prices climbed towards a two-year high on Thursday as cold weather in the US boosted demand, slashed stockpiles and contributed to a stronger-than-expected rise in fuel consumption in 2010.

On Friday, the markets shrugged off the surging oil prices and lacklustre global indices to sign off on a positive note. Putting behind a lethargic morning session, both the BSE barometer and the Nifty regained their respective psychological levels of 20k and 6k mark, aided by a jump in the metal and FMCG packs.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pegged the annual headline inflation at 5.5% by end-March 2011.

The crude oil prices in the international markets climbed toward two-year highs, above $91 a barrel, on Thursday as cold weather in the US boosted demand, slashed stockpiles and contributed to a stronger-than-expected rise in fuel consumption in 2010.