Markets rise marginally after a 4-week slide

The Indian markets rose marginally this week after falling for four straight weeks. The Sensex rose 0.40% and the Nifty gained 0.59% for the week ended May 25, 2012. Headline for the week: Oil cos' gains after Petrol hiked by Rs7.54 a litre Fire in your pocket: Petrol prices do it again How is Rupee’s freefall related to Newton’s law? RIL group abandons D4 gas India's economic growth likely to rise 7.5% Petrol prices may be cut next month: Oil cos Indian Indices: After a four-week slide, the Indian markets rose marginally this week as investors bought stocks, which were available at lower levels. The Sensex rose 0.40% and the Nifty ended the week up by 0.59%. The Indian markets were volatile throughout the week on global worries and concerns over rupee depreciation, which added pressure to the markets. The week saw markets falling in three out of five sessions. Tracking some stock specific actions, Bharti Airtel got a boost on acquisition of 49% stake in US telecom major Qualcomm Inc's fourth-generation (4G) broadband venture in the country for $165 million (Rs907 crore). On the flip side, limelight was hogged by Oil Marketing Companies (OMC's) which rose after a hike in petrol rates by Rs7.54 per litre, the first hike in the last six months and also the biggest ever. Shares of auto firms, on the other hand, slipped on worries of hike in petrol prices which may reduce the demand for petrol vehicles. From the earnings point of view, Reliance Capital jumped after reporting a strong consolidated profit after tax of Rs329 crore for the Q4FY12 as against the loss Rs6 crore a year ago. Consolidated net profit of Power Finance Corporation (PFC) surged 15.55% to Rs3058.85 crore for the year ended March 31, 2012. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) reported a rise in its net profit in Q4. The net profit surged 20.8% YoY at Rs3,380 crore. Reliance Power's consolidated net profit surged 24.2% to Rs231 crore for the Q4 of FY12. ITC's Q4FY12 net profit rose 26% to Rs1614.36 crore from Rs1281.48 crore. On the Home ground, the government committee headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet today (May 25, 2012) to discuss the current hike in diesel, liquified petroleum gas and kerosene prices. Further, close on heels of the steepest ever hike, there are expectations thats the petrol prices may be cut by Rs1.50-1.80 early next month if the current trend of softening in international oil prices continues, oil companies indicated. From currency point of view, the rupee had declined 12.7% against the dollar since its 2012 peak in early February and is the worst performer in Asia so far this year. Further, the rupee touched all time low of 56.38 in the current week. Depreciation in rupee weighed on the sentiments. Global Indices: All the global markets closed in green zone except Hang Seng, which was down by 1.26%, Shanghai Composite declined by 0.47% and Nikkei fell by 0.36%. Nasdaq was up by 2.18%, FTSE100 rose by 1.56% and CAC40 surged by 1.01%. Sectoral and stock screening: Among the 13 sectoral indices, eleven sectors closed in green zone, while remaining two closed in red zone. Top Gainers: BSE CG (up by 1.67%), BSE Bankex (rose by 1.61%) and BSE Oil & Gas (rose by 1.50%). Top Losers: BSE FMCG (down by 2.28%) and BSE CD (fell by 1.86%). Looking at the 'A' group stocks, the top three gainers of the week were wockhardt (up 14.17%), Adani Enterprises (rose 12.22%) and Reliance Capital (up 9.99%). The top three losers of the week were Crompton Greaves (down 8.02%), Manappuram Finance (down 7.87%) and Sesa Goa (down 6.01%). FII/MF activity: The foreign institutional investors ( FIIs) have been the net sellers of the Indian stocks worth Rs596.4 crore, while the domestic investors were the net buyers of Indian stocks to the tune of Rs180.5 crore during the week till May 23, 2012 Market Outlook: Markets may remain volatile next week as the traders are expected to roll-over their positions from the near-month May 2012 series to June 2012 series. The May 2012 derivatives contracts will expire on Thursday, 31 May 2012. The other important event to watch out next week will be Q4 March 2012 gross domestic product ( GDP) data. The government will announce Q4 March 2012 GDP data on Friday, 31 May 2012. The Indian economy expanded 6.1% in October-December quarter, the weakest pace of expansion in more than two years, hurt by slower growth in manufacturing the output and a contraction in mining production. Automobile and cement shares will be in focus as companies from these two sectors will start unveiling monthly sales volume data for May 2012 from Friday, 1 June 2012. The Q4 March 2012 earnings season is also drawing towards a close. Therefore, investor focus will be on the guidance provided by the management for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) to gauge the earnings outlook. Earnings to be announced next week are:- Coal India on 28 May 2012. Tata Motors, ONGC, Steel Authority of India and Power Grid Corporation of India on 29 May 2012. Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries will also announce its Q4 results on the same day. GAIL (India) and DLF on 30 May 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Jaiprakash Associates will unveil FY 2012 results on the same day.