Markets gain on global cues

Weekly markets

Europe's decision to introduce a rescue package for Greece buoyed sentiments across the globe and Indian markets were no exception.

The week started on a strong note for the markets as the Sensex recouped most of the past week's losses on global cues. The next day the index extended gains and on Thursday, touched a high of 17,389. However, weakness returned and the Sensex dropped to a low of 16,923 on Friday - down over 466 points from the week's high.

The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 225 points or 1.3% this week to end at 16,994. The Nifty ended at 5,094 - up 76 points from last Friday's closing.

A lower-than-expected IIP number was received positively by investors as it meant a further hike in interest rates may not happen right now. IIP rose lower than expected 13.5% in March 2010. The growth was also slower than February's 15.1% expansion.

Further boost came from the April WPI inflation figures. India's annual headline inflation in April eased in line with expectations, adding to the likelihood that the Reserve Bank will hold off on further monetary policy tightening ahead of a scheduled review in July. Wholesale prices rose 9.59 per cent from a year earlier, data released on Friday showed, a tad above the median forecast for a 9.5 per cent rise and compared with March's pace of 9.9 per cent.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained in line with broader indices. The mid-cap index jumped 1.5% to 6,942 while the small-cap index added 1% to 8,810.

Among the sectoral indices the auto index surged 3.6% to 7,792. Auto stocks rose on a good rise in April sales.

The BSE consumer durables, bankex and FMCG indices out-performed with gains of 2-3% each.

However, weakness was seen in the metal index and it slipped marginally to 15,892.

Among the Sensex stocks auto shares led the rally. Mahindra & Mahindra  and Tata Motors surged 7% each to Rs 560 and Rs 816, respectively.

DLF jumped 4.8% on a good quarterly result. The company reported over two-fold jump in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ending March at Rs 426.38 crore. Reliance Infrastructure added 4.6% to Rs 1,025.

Banking stocks gained. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank advanced 6% and 4%, respectively.

Other gainers included ITC, Tata Power, ACC, Grasim, TCS, NTPC and Infosys.

Market heavyweight, Reliance,  ended flat at Rs 1,043. Larsen & Toubro gained during the week after winning orders but ended flat at Rs 1,529 on Friday.

SBI dropped marginally at Rs 2,2223 on Friday following a dismal Q4 number. The country's largest public sector lender posted 31.92 per cent decline in standalone net profit at Rs 1,867 crore in the March quarter as compared to Rs 2,742.31 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.

New entry in the Sensex-30, Cipla, slumped 8% to Rs 313.

Communication stocks tumbled on TRAI recommendations. Bharti Airtel crashed 8% to Rs 264. Reliance Communications plunged 5.4% to Rs 145.

Metal stocks were down. Sterlite and Tata Steel dropped 1.8% each to Rs 701 and Rs 549, respectively.

Other losers this week were, Maruti Suzuki, BHEL and Hero Honda.