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 Market Commentary 

Bulls outnumber Bears for 3rd straight week 

Indian markets settled with sharp gains for third straight week led by recovery in rupee and also due to gains in sectors like Realty, Bankex, CG, Metal. The Sensex shut shop gaining 3.79% while the Nifty rose 3.98% for the week ended March 07, 2014

Major Headlines for the week:

• HSBC Mfg PMI rises to 52.5 in February 
• With 10 crore new voters on list, Election countdown begins 
• HSBC Services PMI in contraction mood for 8th month 
• Q3FY14 CAD improves significantly 

Indian indices:

Welcome to the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for March 07, 2014. Indian indices edged higher on recovery in rupee as the Current Account Deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply, to 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December quarter according to data. The markets gained in four out of five trading sessions in the week just gone by. The BSE Mid-Cap and the BSE Small-Cap indices underperformed the Sensex during the week.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 193.02 points or 2.97% to 6,693.44 and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 167.41 points or 2.6% to 6,612.45. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 799.67 points or 3.79% to 21,919.79, a record closing high. The CNX Nifty gained 249.70 points or 3.98% to 6,526.65, a record closing high.

Major events of the Week: 

• HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 52.5 points in February, a one-year high. It was 51.4 points in January.

• India's mammoth parliamentary election will start on April 7, the Election Commission announced on Wednesday, kicking off a race that will pit BJP leader Narendra Modi against the unpopular Nehru-Gandhi family's ruling Congress party. 

• The HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, rose to 48.8 in February from 48.3, but remained stuck below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the eighth month. The contraction in India's services sector moderated last month but new business declined and input prices rose, a business survey showed on Wednesday. 

• In India, the Current Account Deficit (CAD) has narrowed sharply, to 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December quarter, according to data on Wednesday, improving sharply from the record high of 4.8% of GDP in the year ended in March 2013.

Weekly market trend from March 03, 2014 - March 07, 2014:

• March 03- Indian shares fell on Monday to snap a five-day winning streak as stocks of blue chips such as ICICI Bank declined as part of an emerging markets retreat over fears of military tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The BSE Sensex fell 0.82% and NSE Nifty was down by 0.88%. Key benchmark share indices closed near their day's lows because of heightened political tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The Sensex closed at 20946.65, down by 173.47 points, while the Nifty fell 55.50 points to close at 6221.45

• March 04- India's benchmark BSE index turned positive for the year after rising more than 1 percent for its biggest daily gain since mid-January, as continued foreign investor buying is sparking optimism about blue-chips. The BSE Sensex rose 1.26% and NSE Nifty was up by 1.23%. The Sensex closed at 21209.73, up by 263.08 points, while the Nifty rose 76.50 points to close at 6297.95

• March 05- India's benchmark BSE index edged up on Wednesday to approach a record closing high hit last month, extending a recent rally as continued foreign-investor buying boosted blue chips. The BSE Sensex rose 0.32% and NSE Nifty was up by 0.49%. Benchmarks maintained initial firmness into closing deals led by an uptick in heavyweight banking and IT stocks. The Sensex closed at 21276.86, up by 67.13 points, while the Nifty rose 30.70 points to close at 6328.65

• March 06- The BSE Sensex hit a record high while the Nifty closed just off its own all-time high, as steady buying by foreign investors continued to spark a rally in blue chips such as ICICI Bank. The Sensex rose 1.11% and Nifty was up by 1.15%. India markets breached their all-time high intra-day levels boosted by buying in heavyweight banking & financial stocks. Investors got cheered as sharp decline in the Current Account Deficit (CAD), which is at a 4 year low as exports picked up and gold imports reduced. Also, Strong FII inflows in cash market aided the sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex wrapped trade at 21513.87, up by 237.01 points while the NSE Nifty rose 72.50 points to settle at 6401.15.

• March 07- Indian markets extended gains for the fourth consecutive day, markets ended at fresh highs on a closing basis. The Sensex hit an intra-day record high of 21,961. Nifty hit intra-day record high of 6538. Nifty, Sensex marked biggest intra-day gain since Nov 2013. Realty, Bank Nifty, Capital Goods lead the market rally. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank contributed over 60% to Bank Nifty's gain. The Sensex closed at 21919.79, up by 405.92 points, while the Nifty rose 125.50 points to close at 6526.65.

Global indices:
Looking at Global Markets: Gainers were- Nikkei up 2.92%, Nasdaq up 1.02% and Dow Jones up 0.61%, Losers were- Dax 100 down 1.54%, Hang Seng down 0.77% and FTSE 100 down 0.31%.

Sectoral and stock screening:
Among the 13 sectoral indices three sectors closed in the red zone while others ended in green in the week gone by. Top Gainers - S&P BSE Realty surged 12.97%, followed by S&P BSE Bankex which rose 10.44%, S&P BSE CG up 8.15% and S&P BSE Metal gained 7.94%. Top Losers - S&P BSE HC down 4.33%, S&P BSE IT fell 2.78% and S&P BSE TECk slipped 1.32%. 

Looking at the 'A' group stocks, the top three gainers of the week were - Hindalco Inds up by 26.23%, Yes Bank up24.26% and Indian Bank up 22.13%. The top three losers of the week were - GSK Pharma fell by 12.72%, Godrej Consumer Product fell by 6.97% and Amara Raja Batteries fell by 5.70%.

FII activity:
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been net buyers of the Indian stocks worth a net of Rs1167.30 crore till March 07, 2014, while the domestic investors were net sellers of Indian stocks to the tune of Rs910.40 crore during the week till March 07, 2014.