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Indian stock markets closed down for second-straight week as concerns over economic growth slowdown and political instability sparked overseas investors selling into the domestic shares.
For the week, the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index Sensex slumped 207.67 points or 1.1 per cent to end at 18,242.56.
Risk appetite was also frail after country’s industrial production barely grew and was at 0.6% in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday. In the April-February period, industrial production expanded an annual 0.9%.
BSE-IT index led the drop, falling over 10 per cent for the week after Infosys, the company with second-highest weightage on the index, guided for a revenue growth of 6-10%, much below the Nasscom estimate of 12-14% for the fiscal 2014.
Globally, Asian markets posted gains for the week after the Bank of Japan's monetary policy stimulus to fight deflation sending the yen tumbling and stocks soaring.
Overnight, U.S. stocks end to close out the second-best week of gains so far this year buoyed by encouraging data from China earlier in the week and better-than-expected US. initial jobless claims.
Back home, the key sectoral indices such as IT, technology, metals and oil & gas fell most while real-estate, autos, FMCG, bankex lead gains for the week on BSE.
The broader markets ended the week on a negative note with mid-caps and small-caps falling 0.7% each on the BSE.
Movers & Shakers
The gainers on the Sensex included counters such as Axis Bank, ICICI Bank gaining 3% and 4% while Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors added 1.4% and 7% respectively, Cipla rose 4.7% on BSE.
The laggards included names such as Ranbaxy Laboratories falling 2%, Infosys slumping 20%, Wipro declining 16%, Coal India and Tata Steel fell 3% while ONGC 2% for the week BSE.
The key notable movers included stocks such as, Infosys slumped over 20% after posting flat quarter-on-quarter net profit growth at Rs 2,394 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013.
Quarterly profit rose just 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, even as the company won orders from customers including German automaker BMW. Infosys also gave a full year revenue guidance of 6-10% for FY14, compared with an industry guidance of 10-14%. It gave no EPS guidance.
Lupin rose 7% after foreign institutional investors (FIIs) holding in the pharma major touched a historic high.
Banking shares gained on hopes the Reserve Bank of India will cut interest rates for a third time this year at its May 3 policy review. SBI , ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained between 1-5% on the BSE.
Outlook
Shardul Kulkarni, senior technical analyst, Angel Broking, said though a bounce could not be ruled out, the outlook is quite bearish from a six-month perspective.
"The near-term support for the Nifty is at 5,480. A weekly closing below 5,480 will unleash significant pain in Indian equities," he said.
Key events
The key trigger for the markets will be wholesale price inflation data due on Monday which will help in determining the tone of the RBI monetary policy on May 3.
Meanwhile the fourth-quarter earnings of Reliance Industries on Tuesday, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services on Wednesday and Wipro’s results on Friday will be watched out for.
Globally, China Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter on Monday followed by Fed's Beige Book on Wednesday will gain limelight next week.
