Markets wrap 2nd last week of 2012 in red; Sensex loses over 300 pts

Domestic and global woes weighed on the market sentiments this week. The Sensex fell 0.38% and the Nifty lost 0.54% for the week ended December 21, 2012. Major Headlines: RBI leaves rates unchanged FDI inflows rises 67% in October Investments into P-notes surge in last 8 mths Foreign exchange reserves swell $484.2 mn India's deficit on track; Growth forecast lowers Indian indices: The Indian indices remained volatile throughout the week, with the Sensex slipping 0.38% and Nifty down by 0.54% in the 51st trading week of 2012. Profit booking was witnessed throughout the week, which kept the sentiments bearish. Investors booked profits across the board on the back of domestic and global woes. The Indian markets ended the week marginally lower reflecting the negative sentiments; market breadth was negative in three out of the five trading sessions of the week. The BSE Sensex declined 371.48 points or 0.38% to settle at 19,242 while NSE Nifty dropped 116.25 points or 0.54% to settle at 5,847.70 in the week ended December 21, 2012. Major events: 1. RBI kept the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Repo rate and SLR unchanged in its mid quarter monetary policy. Repo rate was unchanged at 8%. CRR at 4.25%. Reverse Repo Rates unchanged at 7%. 2. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in India jumped 67% in October to $1.94 billion, a government statement said on Friday (December 21, 2012), but inflows for the current financial year were still down. Weekly market trend from December 17 - December 21, 2012 1. Trading for the week began on a flat note. Key benchmark indices declined on December 17, 2012 and closed the trading session in negative zone backed by weak domestic and global cues. Investors were cautious ahead of the mid-quarter Monetary Policy review by the RBI. The Sensex closed at 19,244.42, down by 72.83 points while the Nifty fell by 21.70 points to close at 5857.90. 2. On December 18, 2012, the Indian equities remained volatile throughout the day and closed trading session in the green zone despite of no change in the RBI mid-quarter policy review. The Sensex ended at 19,364.75, up by 120.33 points while Nifty closed at 5896.80, up by 38.90 points. 3. On December 19, 2012, the Indian markets carried forward gains of the previous session and remained strong for the entire day. Indian indices cheered the Banking Amendment Bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 2012. The sustained foreign capital inflows coupled with higher global advices also boosted the market sentiment. The Sensex shut shop at 19476, up by 111.25 points and the Nifty rose 32.80 points to close at 5929.60. 4. On December 20, 2012, the Indian markets rang the opening bell on a positive note and opted to have a listless trade with benchmark indices moving in a narrow range. The markets closed the trading session in negative zone backed by weak domestic and global cues. The Sensex closed at 19,453.92, down by 22.08 points and the Nifty fell 13.20 points to settle at 5916.40. 5. On December 21, 2012, Key indices remained weak led by fall in global markets and a sharp crack in major sectors. Markets remained under pressure through out the day, as global market continued to reel under pressure on uncertainty over fiscal cliff deal. The Sensex shut shop at 19242, down by 211.92 points while the Nifty fell 68.70 points to close at 5847.70. Global indices: Global markets closed the week on a positive note except Hang Seng, the only loser was falling by 0.44%. Top Gainers: Nasdaq was up by 2.66%, Nikkei rose 0.15%. Top Gainers: Shanghai Composite up by 4.31%, Nikkei rose 2.08%, Dow Jones gained 1.35%, DAX100 rose 1.00%, CAC40 gained 0.58%, FTSE 100 up by 0.62%. Sectoral and stock screening: Among the 13 sectoral indices, top gainers- BSE Metal up by 4.44%, BSE HC rose 0.97%, BSE Auto up by 0.81%. Top losers: BSE CG fell by 1.95%, BSE CD slipped 1.80% and BSE Oil&Gas was down by 1.23%. Looking at the 'A' group stocks, the top three gainers of the week were SAIL which was up by 8.89%, Jain Irrigation rose 8.49% and Tata Steel up by 8.13%. The top three losers of the week were JP Power down by 13.47%, IRB Infra down by 9.92% and R Power down by 8.30%. FII/MF activity: The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were the net buyers of the Indian stocks worth a net of Rs3885.4 crore during the week till December 19, 2012, while the domestic investors were net sellers of Indian stocks to the tune of Rs630.6 crore during the week till December 19, 2012. Market Outlook: The coming week will remain volatile for the markets as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month December 2012 series to January 2013 series. The near-month December 2012 derivatives contracts will expire on Thursday, December 27, 2012. The board of Bank of Maharashtra will meet on Saturday, December 22, 2012, to consider the proposal of raising equity capital through preferential allotment to the government/qualified institutional placements/rights issue. The stock markets will remain closed on Tuesday, December 25, 2012, on account of Christmas. On the global front, investors will continue focusing on US fiscal cliff. As the year-end deadline nears, US President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner are locked in intense bargaining over a possible deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, which refers to the possibility of more than $600 billion of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts kicking in from January 2013 that could throw the US economy back into recession