Sensex posts biggest weekly gains in four weeks

The benchmark Sensex and Nifty have gained around 4.2% each in the past month. The mid-cap and small-cap indices have gained nearly 7%

As of Friday, the Indian markets had their biggest weekly advance in a month, with sustained buying by foreign investors and gains in pharmaceutical and automobile stocks.

The BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices continued to outperform blue-chips as investors took more stock-specific bets.

“Global equities rallied for the week on the Greek bailout progress and the Iran nuclear deal,” said Sanjeev Zarbade, vice-president at Kotak Securities. “The positive sentiment continued for Indian equities even as the monsoon lost pace in July. Going ahead, the markets would be driven by corporate earnings, monsoon progress and reform measures in the coming Parliament session.”

Mixed global trends, however, saw the benchmark indices end with only marginal gains on Friday. The BSE Sensex gained only 17.19 points or 0.06 per cent. However, the weekly gain was 2.9 per cent, to end at a three-month high of 28,463. The 50-share NSE Nifty added 1.8 points or 0.02 per cent to 8,609.85.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

 

Banking stocks fell over ambiguity on whether the new composite investment caps for foreign entities would include the banking sector. Most stocks here had rallied a day earlier, after the government approved merging of investment buckets for foreign investors.

“After a strong outperformance over the course of the month, with the Indian markets beating the MSCI-world by five per cent, India is taking a pause, awaiting clarification regarding the composite cap and the outcome of Parliament’s monsoon session, starting July 21,” said Gaurav Jain, director, Hem Securities.

Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 600 crore on Friday, extending the month’s tally to about Rs 5,500 crore.

The benchmark Sensex and Nifty have gained around 4.2 per cent each in the past month. The mid-cap and small-cap indices have gained nearly seven per cent.