Higher advance tax payments for the September quarter boosted the key benchmark indices to their 16-month highs. The week also saw the Nifty briefly touch the 5,000 mark. The BSE Sensex rose 477 points or 2.9 per cent to 16,741, while the Nifty moved 147 points or 3 per cent to 4,976 during the week.
BSE Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices outperformed broader indices, closing the week with gains of 4.22 per cent and 3.84 per cent, respectively. Positive global cues and buying by foreign funds also boosted sentiment.
What to expect this week
Trading during the week would be truncated with the markets closed on Monday. The indices are expected to be choppy in the derivative expiry week. Nevertheless, analysts expect the market to consolidate in the near-term after the up-move witnessed during the last few sessions.
Global cues could decide the direction of the domestic markets; the US Federal Reserve will meet during the week to assess the early signs of growth in the US economy. Foreign buying would help drive positive sentiments further; it was robust for the previous week with FII’s net purchases at Rs 4,984 crore for the first four days of the week.
| Stock to watch Allcargo Global
Allcargo Global Logistics (AGL) shares could see action this week following an investment of $23 million (Rs 110 crore) by Blackstone. This comes at the time when the slowdown in the global economy is having a negative impact on the container business. | ||||||||||||||||
Over half of AGL’s revenues come from Europe and US and these have been the worst affected in the slowdown. With the latest investment, Blackstone’s total commitment to the company would increase to $75 million.
Earlier, the AGL board approved the Blackstone investments whereby 1.5 million warrants will be converted into an equal number of equity shares of the company, at about Rs 934 per equity share. The stock is trading at 20 times its trailing 12 month EPS. It hit a 52 week high of Rs 920 on June 4, 2009 and a low of Rs 271 on October 31, 2008.
