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The S&P BSE Sensex managed to settle at 27,105, higher by 94 points, or 0.3 per cent, and the Nifty settled above its technically crucial 8,150 mark at 8,191, up 10 points or 0.1 per cent. The broader markets, however, underperformed the benchmark indices, with the BSE Midcap Index shedding 180 points or 1.7 per cent to settle at 10,236 and the BSE Smallcap Index declining by 114 points or 1 per cent to settle at 10,829.
The sedate close to the week actually camouflages the battle between the bulls and bears for supremacy, which has culminated in an inconclusive draw of sorts for the time being. The Sensex oscillated in a broad range of about 1,200 points between an intra-week low of 26,423 and a high of 27,603.
The bears dominated most of the week, as a worldwide sell-off in sovereign bonds dragged the S&P BSE Sensex down by 722 points, its 20-week closing low, on Wednesday. But the bulls hit back on Friday with a 500-point rally on the Sensex, due to the return of calm in global bond markets and the government’s accommodative stance on the contentious MAT issue.
“Considering that the Indian market has cooled-off significantly from its life-time high in early March, value hunters could look to grab onto opportunities available in the market,” according to Hitesh Agrawal, head of research at Reliance Securities.
“In the current scenario, we believe that information technology and pharma sectors could be good medium-to-long-term bets, as we believe that a major part of the cross-currency headwinds have already played out. Auto is another sector where we believe investors can scout for opportunities. Select stocks in FMCG, infrastructure (cement, roads, etc) can also be considered,” he added.
SECTORS AND STOCKS
The FMCG, IT and metal indices gained around a percent each, while the banking index had a rough ride with losses of around 3% each.
In the FMCG space, Hindustan Unilever soared by 5% post its March quarter results announced Friday and ITC gained nearly 2%. IT stocks advanced, with Infosys, TCS and Wipro gaining between 1% and 2% each.
The metal space also had a good week, with Hindalco rallying more than 7%; Vedanta, Tata Steel and Hindustan Zinc added 1-4% each.
On the other hand, banking heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank weakened 3-4% each. And in the larger banking universe, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara Bank nosedived by 8-14% each.
Among individual stocks, Bajaj Auto jumped more than 9% to top the gainer’s list for the week, followed by Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and RIL, which gained 3-4% each. On the loser’s side, NTPC, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank registered losses of 4-5% each.
WEEK AHEAD
The ongoing result season, macro-economic data and parliamentary proceedings will dictate the near-term trend. The market participants would also closely watch the 27,000 mark as there could be more short-covering if the Sensex manages to hold on to this level.
There would be ample stock-specific activity in the forthcoming week, with Havells India, SRF, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Motherson Sumi Systems, and a slew of banks including Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, Vijaya Bank, Indian Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce set to announce their March quarter numbers.
On the macro front, the government will unveil data on inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) for April and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for March 2015 on May 12. The government will release data on inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) for April on May 14.
The much-delayed and anticipated goods and services tax (GST) bill is expected to be taken up in Rajya Sabha on Monday. Passage of both the GST bill and the land acquisition bill would be a huge boost for the markets, while a potential slate-mate could dampen the sentiment on Dalal Street.
