Volatile week ends on a negative note

After getting strained by the disappointing IIP numbers, the Sensex closed down by 169 points or 0.97%, at 17192. Earlier, the benchmark index reacted negatively as soon as the IIP figure of 1.9% was declared. However, losses were trimmed in the later session.

The banking sector remained under tight pressure for the second consecutive day, as Moody’s downgraded the sector's outlook on Wednesday. Earlier today, S&P upgraded the Indian banking system's risk outlook by one notch from ‘Group 6’ to ‘Group 5’. Among such negative sentiments, the Indian Rupee also hit a 30-month low and crossed the Rs 50 per dollar mark.

European shares advanced on the back of on expectations that some political developments in debt-ridden Italy and Greece would pave the way for tough austerity measures, which are crucial to resolve the debt crisis. Asian markets also closed with marginal gains.

Dow Jones Futures is currently trading 50 points or 0.42% up at 11905, indicating a positive sentiment in the US markets.

Back home, all the banking stocks moved southwards for the second day, responding to concerns raised over their asset quality. Realty, Consumer Goods and Metal stocks also took most of the beating. Oil & Gas, FMCG, Auto and Healthcare were the only indices that closed the week on a somewhat positive note.

Amongst the Sensex stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra was the top gainer up by over 3%. Sun Pharma held its ground for the whole day, and ended up by over 2%. RIL, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto were the other stocks also in the gainers list.

ICICI was the top loser, and lost over 4.5% today. Metal stocks such as Hindalco and Tata Steel found themselves in the losers list. Coal India held firm, with marginal gains by the end of the day, while all other energy stocks declined.

Tata Communications, which reported its quarterly earnings, was up by 4.65%. Glenmark Pharma also gained 4.42%.

Amongst the other stocks, the Kingfisher Airlines scrip hit an all-time low at Rs 19.65, as the company faces fresh headwinds from its peers. Mahindra Satyam ended the week on a positive note, with the company posting Net Profits of Rs 238 cr.

Tomorrow, over 200 corporate will announce their quarterly results. Notable among them are Coal India, IVRCL, JP Power, NALCO, Wockhardt, etc. We advise our readers to track the post result management comments to get some idea of the future earnings of the corporate houses.

The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 2610 cr, higher than Rs 2576.35 cr as on 9rd November, 2011. The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, was negative. Out of a total of 3291 stocks traded, 2137stocks declined, 1036 advanced and 118 stocks remained unchanged.

Overall, the week was dominated by high volatility, the European debt crisis, a slowdown in industrial activity and the inflation numbers. Today, the Indian markets have shown very contrasting behavior to world markets, which had some relief at least for the week. We may witness some positive opening in the next week due to the positive global cues.