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 Market Commentary 

April disappoints Indian mkts in 1st week; Sensex, Nifty lose 2%

Indian indices ended lower on continued political concerns and selling by foreign institutional investors. The Sensex was down by 2.04% and the Nifty fell 2.28% for the week ended April 05, 2013.

Major Headlines for the week:

• India's HSBC Services PMI at 51.4 in March
• India's forex reserves jump $1 bn to $293.37 bn
• February infrastructure output down 2.5%
• Sugar stocks jump as CCEA OKs partial decontrol
• Tata Motors March sales falls 28%
• Automotive sales March 2013: Downtrend continues

Indian indices:

The key benchmark indices remained highly volatile for the entire week; the Sensex slipped 2.04% and Nifty was down by 2.28% in the fourteenth trading week of 2013. Profit booking was witnessed throughout the week, which kept the sentiments bearish. Markets witnessed a sell-off as possibility of early elections this year dampened sentiment. FIIs too remained sellers fir the week. The Indian markets ended the week in red reflecting the negative sentiments; markets fell in three out of the five trading sessions of the week.

The BSE Sensex declined 385.54 points to settle at 18450.23 while NSE Nifty dropped 129.3 points to settle at 5553.25 in the week ended April 05, 2013.

Weekly market trend from February 18 - February 22, 2013:

• On April 01, 2013; the Indian stock indices ended the first trading day of FY14 in green led by buying in Realty, CG and HC stocks. Markets opened on a positive note tracking steady Asian shares and on the back of positive news flow from China and Japan. However the markets slipped in early noon session from the highs of the morning trades as selling in auto and metal indices weighed on the index. The S&P BSE Sensex wrapped trade at 18864.75, up by 28.98 points while the NSE Nifty rose 21.85 points to settle at 5704.40.
  

• Dalal Street witnessed sharp rally on April 02, 2013; led by all around global support. Markets post smart gains after starting the day on a dull note. Strong buying activity was seen in all the sectors which pushed equities higher. Benchmark indices extended the gains in late noon trades, amid value buying at lower levels and short covering by traders led by financials. The BSE Sensex rose 0.93%, while the 50-share Nifty surged 0.77%, for fourth consecutive day of gains. The S&P BSE Sensex wrapped trade at 19040.95, up by 176.20 points while the NSE Nifty rose 43.70 points to settle at 5748.10.
  

• On April 03, 2013; the Indian markets closed in the red zone as the equities traded on a subdued note led by selling pressure across the board, weak global sentiments, fall in rupee and poor HSBC Service PMI numbers for the month of March. Benchmark share indices witnessed weak trading session amid volatility in auto shares and index heavyweights. D Street witnessed a disappointed trading session as markets reversed gains accumulated in a four day rally and posted the biggest fall in last two weeks. HSBC Services PMI fell to a 17-month low of 51.4 in March, according to the HSBC India Composite Output Index. The Sensex closed at 18801.64, down by 239.31 points and the Nifty fell 75.20 points to settle at 5672.90 in trade today.
  

• Markets extended previous session's downfall on April 04, 2013; due to political woes with Realty index being the top loser. Indian markets started on a negative note backed by weak global cues. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.56% while NSE Nifty was down by 1.73% breaking its 200-day moving average. Domestic investor sentiments turned jittery on reports of basket selling by exchange traded funds (ETFs). Worries about early elections after the withdrawal of a key regional ally from the ruling coalition last month too added pressure. The Sensex closed at 18509.70, down by 291.94 points and the Nifty fell 98.15 points to settle at 5574.75 in trade today
  

• The key Indian indices ended in red on April 05, 2013; owing to continuous selling pressure led by weak global and domestic environment. The BSE Sensex fell for a third consecutive session on Friday as concerns that foreign investors would exit some of their holdings due to domestic and global uncertainties continued to hit blue chips such as ITC and ICICI Bank. The Sensex closed at 18450.23, down by 59.47 points and the Nifty fell 21.50 points to settle at 5553.25 in trade today.

Global indices:
All the global markets closed the week on a negative note except Nikkei which rose by 3.51%. Top Losers: Hang Seng was down by 2.57%, FTSE100 fell 2.53%, Nasdaq slipped 1.95%, CAC40 declined 1.82%, Dax100 slipped 1.75% and Shanghai Composite fell 0.51%.

Sectoral and stock screening:
Among the 13 sectoral indices, top gainers- BSE HC up by 2.50%, BSE Oil&Gas rose 1.08%, BSE PSU up by 0.44%. Top losers: BSE FMCG fell by 3.30%, BSE Metal slipped 2.74% and BSE TECk was down by 2.62%.

Looking at the 'A' group stocks, the top three gainers of the week were Reliance Communications which was up by 23.29%, Aurobindo Pharma rose 20.67% and Adani Power up by 15.05%. The top three losers of the week were Satyam Computer down by 10.37%, Bharti Airtel down by 8.89% and Tech Mahindra down by 7.70%.

FII/MF activity:

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were the net sellers of the Indian stocks worth a net of Rs622.7 crore during the week till April 04, 2013; the domestic investors were also the net sellers of Indian stocks to the tune of Rs15.9 crore during the week till April 03, 2013.