First week of March heals Budget wounds; Markets surge 4%

Indian Markets posted a smart recovery in the week ended March 08, 2013. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 4.04%, while NSE Nifty rose 3.95% in the week. Major Headlines: ECB slumps 17% during Apr-Jan 2012-13. HSBC Services PMI for Feb falls to 54.2. Fiscal deficit in 2012-13 may be less than 5.2%: FM. Parliament OKs extra spending on oil subsidies. Indian indices: The Indian markets ended the first week March 2013 on a cheerful note. A flurry of good newsflow boosted investor sentiment this week. Markets bounced back this week as investors picked up stocks that were beaten the most in recent days. Tremendous buying interest throughout the week helped the markets rise after five consecutive weeks of losses. The Indian equities were volatile throughout the week. The S&P BSE Sensex ended at highest level since February 04, 2013 after posting biggest weekly gain since November 30, 2012. The Sensex gained over 500 points in the last three sessions tracking gains in global stocks. Markets ended this week on a buoyant note led by strong global cues. Reflecting the positive price movements, the markets gained in four out of five trading sessions of the week. This was the 10th trading week of 2013. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 2.63% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 2.23%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex. Adding further, Nikkei was the topmost gainer up by 5.84% as compare to all global indices on weekly basis. The BSE Sensex jumped 764.71 points or 4.04% to settle at 19683.23 while NSE Nifty gained 226 points or 3.95% to settle at 5,945.70 in the week ended March 08, 2013. Weekly market trend from March 04-08, 2013: 1. On Monday, (March 04, 2013), the Indian markets closed in the red zone as the equities traded on a subdued note led by sell-off in metal and mining stocks after China tightened mortgage rules to cool the property market. Moreover the sentiments were dampened as the US fiscal crisis threatened the global economy amid fear over resurgence of euro-zone crisis after joblessness in the region rose to an all-time high. The Sensex closed at 18877.96, down by 40.56 points and the Nifty fell 21.20 points to settle at 5698.50. 2. Domestic markets ended over 1% higher on Tuesday (March 05, 2013), on growing hopes that the RBI will cut interest rates later this month, which boosted rate-sensitive stocks. Heavyweights were the major contributors in today's gaining spree. The positive global cues also joint the rally. The Sensex wrapped trade at 19143.17, up by 265.21 points while the NSE Nifty rose 85.75 points to settle at 5784.25. 3. On Wednesday, March 06, 2013, rally on the Dalal Street was bolstered by strong buying across the board backed by surge in FII inflows into the real-estate, banks and automobile stocks. Majority of the sectors were under the buyer's radar. The BSE Sensex ended at 19,252.61 up by 109.44 points and the NSE Nifty settled at 5,818.60 up by 34.35 points. 4. On Thursday, March 07, 2013, key indices opened on a negative note as investors booked profit in riskier assets after two-day rally and amid caution on global growth concerns. The indices remained volatile in a narrow range for major part of the day, swinging between gains and losses. The market sentiments got boosted after the positive opening of European markets. The S&P BSE Sensex wrapped trade at 19413.54, up by 160.93 points while the NSE Nifty rose 44.70 points to settle at 5863.30. 5. On Friday, March 08, 2013, the S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty rose by 1.4% as lenders gained on growing hopes that the central bank will cut interest rates, while energy stocks rose as the government sought to spend more on oil subsidies. The markets maintained its uptrend for the fourth consecutive session. The S&P BSE Sensex wrapped trade at 19,683.23, up by 269.69 points while the NSE Nifty rose 82.40 points to settle at 5,945.70. Global indices: Majority of the global markets closed in the green territory except Shanghai Composite which was down by 1.73%. Top Gainers: Nikkei up by 5.84%, Dax100 up by 3.00% and CAC40 up by 2.54%. Sectoral and stock screening Majority of the sectors closed in green, barring BSE CD down by 1.99%. Top Gainers - BSE Realty jumped by 7.42%, BSE Bankex advanced by 5.50% and BSE CG up by 5.31%. Looking at the 'A' group stocks, the top three gainers of the week were - United Breweries surged by 17.40%, Opto Circuits India jumped by 15.60% and CORE Education & Technologies gained by 11.77%. The top three losers of the week were - MMTC slipped by 35.45%, Suzlon Energy dipped by 30.52% and NHPC fell by 26.48%. FII/MF activity: The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were the net buyers of the Indian stocks worth a net of Rs1075.60 crore during the week till March 06, 2013, while the domestic investors were net sellers of Indian stocks to the tune of Rs136.30 crore during the week till March 06, 2013. Market Outlook: Investors will focus on the key economic events in the next week which may set the market moment. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) will unveil data on industrial production for February 2013 on Tuesday, (March 12, 2013). The CSO will also announce data on inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) for February 2013 on Thursday, (March 14, 2013). The Advance tax payment for the final installment of the current fiscal year which is on March 15, 2013, could provide cues on the likely Q4 March 2013 corporate earnings. On the global front, Asian markets will on Monday, (March 11, 2013), react to the influential US non-farm payroll data for February 2013 which will out on Friday, (March 08, 2013).