Markets at a glance

The markets bounced back in a big way and the BSE Sensex gained 234.04 points. There were gains during the first two sessions as investors looked for value buys.

Buying interest picked up on Wednesday even after the US Fed raised short-term interest rates. Government's plans for fresh banking sector reforms led to buying in banking stocks. Mid-week buying by FIIs and strong corporate results also contributed to the bullish sentiment.

The big majority of the blue-chip stocks closed in a positive territory, sending the benchmark indices higher. Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 28 ended up in positive territory, with the index closing 234 points higher from its previous weekend close.

Infosys and Reliance, the two scrips with the highest weightage in the index, led the rally after the previous week's downsides. While the former gained 7.10 per cent to close at Rs 2,021.35, the latter advanced 4 per cent to close at Rs 548.79.

The upsides at the Infosys counter alone amounted to a 49 point rise in the index, while that in Reliance added 27.33 points. ICICI Bank, ONGC and SBI were among the other leading advances. Only two stocks ended up lower during the week.

While FMCG major closed 2.54 per cent lower at Rs 134.19, cement stock Grasim ended 1.06 per cent below at Rs 1149.55. The losses in these stocks shaved off more than eight points from the index. 
 

	7-May-05	Return (%)
		1 week	1 month	1 year
BSE Sensex	6388.48	3.8	-2.4	12.68
S&P CNX Nifty	1977.5	3.94	-3.67	9.59
BSE-100	3439.46	3.8	-2.16	13.12
BSE-200	849.77	3.5	-3.09	11.72
BSE-500	2700.49	3.45	-2.63	15.25
CNX Mid-cap 200	2840.8	2.4	-1.61	59.6
CNX Nifty Junior	4223.8	4.95	-1.97	13.94
S&P CNX 500	1748.55	3.55	-2.77	14.85
FII Net inflows (Rs cr)*	123.3	69.8	-1447.7	35564.2
MF Net inflows (Rs cr)*	140.09	367.18	1669.17	2740.48
BSE turnover (Rs cr)@	2046.67	1739.59	1843.73	2013.91
NSE turnover (Rs cr)@	3928.67	3578.41	3944.12	4415.07
Sensex P/E@	14.86	14.4	15.75	18.96
BSE-Auto	2679.97	3.67	2.08	4.79
BSE-Bankex	3670.71	4.75	-6.01	15.42
BSE-Cap. Goods	3401.48	3.49	3.49	45.63
BSE-Cons Durable	1611.79	2.57	4.22	54.31
BSE-FMCG	1110.91	-0.08	3.95	19.62
BSE-Healthcare	2515.46	3.57	-1.47	1.38
BSE-IT Sector	2477.52	5.2	-7.65	35.74
BSE-TECk	1637.3	5.21	-5.49	33.66
CNX IT	2640.8	3.98	-9.6	27.03
BSE-Metal	5628.46	2.24	-10.76	35.17
BSE-Oil & Gas	3083.26	5.16	-1.84	-5.15
BSE-PSU	4170.24	4.45	-2.88	1.04
Nasdaq	1967.35	2.38	-2.55	2.58
Dow Jones	10345.4	1.5	-1.91	2.25
MSCI World	1140.62	1.32	-1.13	13.87
MSCI Emgerging Markets	550.78	3.22	-0.84	33.31
MSCI Emerging Asia	236.72	3.09	-1.23	21.43
Rs/$	43.43	-0.21	-0.69	-2.75
Brent Crude (spot)$/Bbl	49.21	-0.77	-7.95	32.82
* Figures for week, month and year are cumulative flows. @ Daily average turnover/Sensex P/E as on date, week-, month- and year-ago.

Last week's rally marked by gains across sectors. Almost all sectoral indices recorded gains, with only the BSE FMCG Index posting a loss, that too marginal.

The BSE technology indices - the BSE TECk (up 5.21 per cent) and the BSE IT (up 5.20 per cent) - were the highest gainers. Gains in leading technology counters such as TCS, Wipro and Satyam helped the performance of these indices.

The BSE Bankex also advanced 4.75 per cent after the government announced fresh banking sector reforms. On the flip side, the BSE FMCG Index slipped marginally after HLL ended as the biggest loser among Sensex stocks.

Though US indices finished stronger for the week, a strong employment report led to concerns that a surge in economic growth could spark inflation and prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Earlier in the week, the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points while indicating that that further increases in US rates would continue to be gradual.

The Dow Jones Industrial ended the week up 1.5 per cent at 10,345.40, while the Nasdaq ended 2.38 per cent higher at 1,967.35. Though US indices ended Friday on a mixed note, gains in earlier in the week led to solid gains overall. US bond prices ended lower, sending yields higher, while the dollar gained versus other major currencies.
 

BULK DEALS
Date	Stock	Client	Deal type	Quantity	Price (Rs)
2-May-05	Andhra Sugars	Kotak Mahindra UK A/C New Venron Capital	Buy	173266	122.89
2-May-05	Eicher	Templeton Mutual Fund	Buy	100391	154.99
2-May-05	Oriental Bank of Commerce	Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana	Sell	1289500	264.75
2-May-05	Oriental Bank of Commerce	Morgan Stanley International	Buy	2237335	268.88
4-May-05	Amtrex Hitachi Appliances	UBS Securities Asia	Sell	140581	42.16
4-May-05	Gateway Distriparks	HDFC Mutual Fund	Buy	550000	159.34
4-May-05	Ind Swift Laboratories	Emerging Capital Advisors	Sell	40000	63.5
5-May-05	Federal Bank	Templeton Mutual Fund	Buy	423200	166.31
5-May-05	Karnataka Bank	Templeton Mutual Fund	Buy	1363609	76.61
5-May-05	Welspun India	GMO Emerging Market Fund	Sell	500000	120
Source: NSE, BSE

What to expect this week
The bullish sentiment is expected to continue this week. However, there could be some profit-taking in blue-chip counters which saw buying interest last week. The market trend will also depend on the direction of global markets and oil prices.

Corporate results are also likely to have an impact, with several major companies such as Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints and Jindal Steel are scheduled to announce their quarterly results.

Stock of the week

Venus Remedies
Last week's close (Rs)	123.70
Prev. week's close (Rs)	97.05
Week's high (Rs)	123.7
Week's low (Rs)	101.5
Last week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	1.23
Prev. week's ave. daily turnover (Rs cr)	0.91
Futures close	NT
Number of up/down move	5/0

Venus Remedies zoomed 27.46 per cent last week to close at Rs 123.70. The stock has been in focus over the past few weeks after the company announced that it would invest Rs 50 crore to set up a manufacturing unit at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.

The company has acquired five acres of land to set up the new plant which would be completed in four phases in two years. The proposed facility would cater to super specialty segments like Carbapenems, anti-cancer drugs in lyophilised form, and injections in pre-filled syringes.

The company expects 100 per cent growth in sales with the new project. It is concentrating on launching new generation, high-end specialty products in both anti-cancers and cephalosporin segments to increase its market share.