Markets at a glance

Even though the Sensex crossed the 9000 mark in intra-day trading at the start of the week, profit booking led to downsides in the next two sessions. Markets looked up again towards the end of week, enabling key indices to end the week with gains.

For the week ended December 2, 2005, Sensex gained 73 points to close at 8961.61, while the broader Nifty advanced 14.50 points to settle at 2,697.95. FIIs have been net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 4038.7 crore in November, 2005.

Market mood was positive for the most part, though intra-week profit booking took some gloss off bulls' gains. Out of the 30 Sensex stocks, 20 ended up with gains.

IT Bellwether Infosys was the biggest contributor to the Sensex gains. The stock advanced 3.74 per cent to close at Rs 2843. The gains at the counter added 36.92 points to the index. Larsen & Toubro (up 6.76 per cent at Rs 1755), Reliance Energy (up 11.78 per cent at Rs 618.85) and HDFC (up 2.42 per cent at Rs 1145.05) were the other big contributors to the index.

The gains in these stocks added 42.81 points to the index. Bajaj Auto (down 4.15 per cent at Rs 1983.25) led the losers, taking away 10.06 points from the index.

Save for BSE Auto index, all sectoral indices posted gains for the week. BSE Capital Goods index (up 3.51 per cent) and BSE Consumer Durable index (up 3.46 per cent) posted the biggest gains. While gains in leading index stocks like Larsen & Toubro, BHEL, Siemens and ABB lifted the former, advances in Titan Industries and Blue Star led to gains in the latter.

BSE Metal index (up 2.36 per cent) and BSE IT index (up 2.02 per cent) also posted impressive gains. The decline in BSE Auto index was brought about by downsides in Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Hero Honda.

US indices had a mixed week, as investors welcomed a strong November jobs report, but booked profits after five weeks of gains. The Dow Jones industrials ended the week down 54.11 points at 10877.51, while the Nasdaq rose 10.36 points to end the week at 2,273.37.

While the Dow and S&P 500 index ended a five "�week winning streak, the Nasdaq managed to close higher, stretching its winning streak to seven weeks and rising to a new 4-1/2 year high.

What to expect this week
From a low of 7,685.64 on 28 October 2005, Sensex has surged 1,275.97 points in just a little over a month. However going forward market sentiments are likely to be influenced by the outlook for US interest rates.

There is also a feeling among a section of FIIs that Indian equity valuations are stretched compared to other emerging markets. Any selling on the part of FIIs is expected to lead to volatility in the market.

Stock of the week
 

Vaibhav Gems
Last week's close (Rs)	322.93
Prev. week's close (Rs)	282.88
Week's high (Rs)	350.83
Week's low (Rs)	287.25
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	17.85
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	1.60
Futures close	NT
Number of up/down move	5/0

Vaibhav Gems was among the big movers of the week. The stock surged 14.15 per cent last week to close at Rs 322.93. Volumes at the counter also saw a huge spike during the week.

The upsides at the counter came after the company approved placement of equity to private equity investor Warburg Pincus. The placement to Warburg Pincus will be made at a price of up to Rs 280 per share and not less than Rs 275 per share.

The post issue holding of Warburg in Vaibhav Gems will be 27.20 per cent. Vaibhav Gems is a leading exporter of jewellery to the US and Europe. It is increasingly laying emphasis on the studded jewellery segment.