Markets inch past last week’s close (Weekly Market Review)

MUMBAI - Indian equities markets crawled past last week’s closing figure at the end of a truncated week, which saw global markets’ indices rise smartly. A key index ended trade Wednesday at 11,403.25 points, 0.65 percent higher than the previous weekly close.

Markets were open only three days, with Thursday and Friday being holidays on account of Lok Sabha elections and Maharashtra Day respectively.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended Wednesday at 11,403.25 points, a gain of 74.20 points or 0.65 percent, over the previous week’s close of 11,329.05 points.

However, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) fell 0.2 percent from its last close to end at 3,473.95 points.

The Sensex hit an intra-week high of 11,492 points a and low of 10,961, while the Nifty hit an intra-week high of 3,517 points and low of 3,351.

Broader market indices ended in the red this week, with the BSE midcap index closing 2.4 percent lower than its previous weekly close, while the BSE smallcap index was down 3.13 percent.

Monday saw the Sensex see-saw between negative and positive terrains before finally shutting shop 42 points higher than its previous close. It rose 42.8 points or 0.38 percent to end trade at 11,371.85 points.

However, stocks at the Nifty didn’t so well with the NSE key index closing 0.31 percent lower.

Indian equities were down in the dumps Tuesday, with Sensex losing 370 points over its previous close as investors booked profits across sectors. The Sensex fell 3.25 percent to close at 11,001.75 points.

The Nifty shed a similar 3.17 percent to close at 3,362.35 points.

Indian equities markets closed high up in the green Wednesday - a day before the futures and options contract expired - as bulls broke out into a rally to regain Tuesday’s losses.

The Sensex rose 401.5 points or 3.65 percent from the previous close to end trade at 11,403.25 points.

Similarly, the Nifty gained 3.23 percent to close at 3,473.95 points.

The top gainers in the Sensex were ICICI Bank (up 10.4 percent), Tata Consultancy Services (up 6.8 percent), Wipro (up 6 percent), Infosys (up 4.2 percent) and Hero Honda (up 3.1 percent).

Among losers were Tata Steel (down 8.8 percent), Reliance Power (down 7.4 percent), Reliance Infrastructure (down 6.1 percent), Hindalco (down 6.1 percent) and Reliance Capital (down 5.9 percent).

For the week ended Friday, Wall Street stocks climbed into the green buoyed by encouraging economic reports and increasing consumer confidence.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index rose for the seventh consecutive week, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed in the green eight straight weeks.

A sharp rally in European stocks Thursday helped key indices record handsome gains. The German DAX 30 rose 1.4 percent to end at 4,769.45 points, while its British peer, the FTSE 100 index advanced 1.3 percent to 4,243.71 points.

The French CAC-40 index gained 1.4 percent to close at 3,159.85 points.