Sensex extend gains for the 3rd straight week, up 74 pts

Stocks: The S&P BSE benchmark Sensex extended its gains for the third straight week, surging by 74 points to end at 28,152.40 on fag-end buying in view of good rainfall this monsoon so far, coupled with sustained foreign capital inflows despite profit-booking.
However, the NSE 50-share Nifty fell by 11 points to end at 8,672.15 on mild selling pressure.
Besides, investor sentiment remained upbeat after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its weekly monsoon update said the cumulative rainfall during this monsoon so far has been 3 per cent above the long period average (LPA).
For the week, the Sensex rose by 74.05 points or 0.26 per cent, posting its third straight weekly gain; while the Nifty shed 11 points, or 0.13 per cent to 8,672.15 after hitting 15-month high of 8,728.35. It gained 349.16 points or 1.26 per cent in three weeks.

Investors booked profits after the RBI maintained status quo in its monetary policy review. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan left interest rates unchanged in his last monetary policy on inflationary pressures but said the central bank's stance remains 'accommodative'.
The RBI left the short-term lending rate, or repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent and the cash reserve ratio static at 4 per cent. The central bank also retained the GDP projection at 7.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth whopping Rs 3,838.45 crore during the week, as per Sebi's record including the provisional figure of August 12.

In the broader market, the BSE mid-cap index rose by 0.43 per cent, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE small-cap index dropped by 0.75 per cent, under performing the Sensex.
Among the S&P, BSE sector and industry indices, FMCG rose by 0.97 per cent, followed by Banking 0.53 per cent, Power 0.34 per cent and IT 0.28 per cent.
However, IPO dropped by 2.26 per cent, Healthcare by 2.12 pct, Realty 2.06 pct, Auto 1.21 pct, Consumer goods 1.03 pct, Tech 0.37 pct, Consumer durables 0.27 pct.
In the 30-share Sensex pack, 16 stocks fell while 14 of them rose during the week.

Major losers were, Lupin by 5.71 pct, Bharti Airtel 4.58 pct, Sun Pharma 4.81 pct, HeroMotoco 3.52 pct, Cipla 2.90 pct, GAIL 2.50 pct, M&M 2.11 pct, HDFC Bank 1.65 pct, Tata Steel 1.60 pct, Larsen 1.60 pct and Maruti 1.04 pct.
Among gainers, Adani Ports surged by 10.03 pct, followed by SBI 4.47 pct, Axis Bank 4.47 pct, ONGC 3.23 pct, TCS 3.15 pct, HDFC 2.85 pct, Coal India 2.60 pct, Reliance 2.01 pct, ITC 0.84 pct and HindUnilever 0.74 pct.
Forex: Snapping two-week winning spree against the
American currency, the rupee dropped by 12 paise to close at 66.89 per dollar on fag-end dollar demand from banks and importers in spite of persistent foreign capital inflows into domestic equity market.

Firm equity markets and foreign capital inflows failed to restrict the rupee's fall against the dollar, a forex dealer said.
The rupee opened lower at 66.85 per dollar as against the last weekend's level of 66.77 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and hovered in a range of 66.6650 per dollar and 66.9800 per dollar before finishing the week at 66.89 per dollar, showing a loss of 12 paise or 0.18 per cent.
The rupee had gained by 31 paise or 0.46 per cent in the previous two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex extended its gains for the third straight week, surging by 74 points to end at 28,152.40 on fag-end buying in view of good rainfall this monsoon so far, coupled with sustained foreign capital inflows despite profit-booking during the mid-week.

In New York, the dollar slumped on Friday, locking in a
slight weekly decline against its main rivals, as a raft of disappointing US economic data led investors to dial back their expectations for the timing and pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes.
The US dollar index, a measure of the buck's strength against a basket of half a dozen rivals, finished the week 0.5 per cent down at 95.7260.
Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) pumped in USD 394.44 million during the first four days of the week as per the Sebi's record.
In the forward market, premium for dollars declined due to sustained receipts from exporters.

The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in January 2017 declined to 183.5-185.5 paise from preceding weekend's level of 191-193 paise and far-forward contracts maturing in July also moved down to 384-386 paise against 388-390 paise previously.
The RBI fixed the reference rate for the USD at Rs 66.8252 and the euro at Rs 74.4633 from last Friday's level of Rs 66.8141 and Rs 74.4510, respectively.
In cross-currency trade, the rupee rose against the pound sterling to close at 86.66 from 87.95, but slipped against the euro to finish at 74.56 from 74.32 previously.
Oils and Oilseeds: Edible oils surged, while industrial

oils eased and linseedoil held steady at the wholesale oils and oilseeds market during the week under review.
Groundnut oil prices hardened during the week on heavy demand from stockists and retailers spurred by string of ensuing festivals amid restricted arrivals from producing belts.
Refined palmolein prices also surged on sustained retail demand.
Castorseeds bold and castoroil commercial eased following mute enquiries from shipper and soap industries.
Linseed oil prices maintained a stable trend in the absence of any worthwhile buying activity.
In the edible segment, groundnut oil prices opened higher at Rs 1,380 and later rose sharply to close at Rs 1,420 from previous weekend level of Rs 1,370 per 10 kg, showing a smart rise of Rs 50.

Refined palmolein commenced higher at Rs 572 and rose further to finish at Rs 595 as compared to last weekend's level of Rs 564, showing a sharp gain of Rs 31 per 10kg.
Castorseeds bold resumed lower at Rs 3,640 and later drifted to a low of Rs 3,610 before concluding at Rs 3,635 as against to preceding weekend's of Rs 3,650, showing a modest loss of Rs 15 per 100kg.
Castoroil commercial also opened a tad lower at Rs 758 and later fell to a low of Rs 752 before settling at Rs 757 from last Saturday's closing level of Rs 760, showing a marginal loss of Rs 3 per per 10kg.

Bullion: Gold remained under modest selling pressure for
the second straight week due to subdued buying interest from jewellery stockists and retailers in the face of sluggish overseas cues.
Strong rupee value as well as profit taking by jewellery traders and investors after its recent swift rally largely impacted trading sentiment.
Although gold maintained a very firm trend globally, domestic buyers preferred to stay on the sidelines expecting some major corrections against the backdrop of Federal Reserve's impending rate hike.
Having briefly dipped below the psychologically crucial Rs 31,000-mark during the mid-week sell-off, yellow-metal staged a smart rebound towards the fag-end trade to cut short early losses on the back of good local buying support ahead of upcoming festivities.
Silver also succumbed to heavy unwinding from speculative traders and savvy traders.
In worldwide trade, the shiny metal ended little changed after rebouding from early slide on disappointing US retail sales and producer price data, bolstering the view in the market that the Fed will not rush to raise interest rates this year.