Mumbai, October 18 (IANS). Indian stock markets ended the week with gains amid short covering by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and strong domestic cues.
Market optimism was boosted by clarity on India-US trade ties, with both sides agreeing to complete the first phase of the agreement by November.
Due to strong buying in major banking stocks, Nifty Bank achieved a new high and the market remained enthusiastic.
Investor confidence was boosted by easing concerns over asset quality in the financial sector and expectations of better sales growth in the festive quarter.
Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex rose 2.10 and 2.04 per cent respectively during the week, with FMCG, pharma and auto indices leading the rise.
Analysts said sectors like realty, healthcare and banking witnessed a broad-based recovery as well as consumption-based sectors.
IT shares remained under pressure due to global discretionary spending concerns and rising pressure on asset quality in the US banking system.
Profit-booking was also seen in media and metal stocks, which limited the overall gains of the indices.
However, the broader market heaved a sigh of relief after the strong rally, with Nifty Midcap 100 falling marginally by 0.57 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 falling marginally by 0.05 per cent, indicating selective profit-booking by investors.
“On the weekly chart, Nifty has formed a big bull candle with higher highs and higher lows, indicating continuation of the uptrend. The index broke above the three-month symmetrical triangle consolidation pattern, indicating a positive trend,” analysts at Bajaj Broking Research said.
He expects the index to move towards 25,900 and then 26,200 levels in the coming weeks.
In this short holiday-filled Diwali week, investors may remain cautious in view of the release of key economic data like US inflation, employment and India’s PMI data.
Investors are also keeping an eye on the ongoing earnings season and policy signals from major global central banks.
–IANS
SKT/