Markets up for second month

Markets ended the last month with a gain of almost a per cent compared with the previous month....

Markets ended the last month with a gain of almost a per cent compared with the previous month. However,when compared with the previous week,the performance of markets was a little weak as the 30-share benchmark index ended the week 1.4 per cent lower on Friday. Sensex closed at 17,868.29,down 1.4 per cent. Nifty also closed at 5367.60,down 1.41 per cent. The markets over the week have been trading in the tight range of 5360-5450. It has not been able to cross its higher range as the Q1 numbers were unable to meet the expectations of the market, said Sunil Sachdeva,senior vice president,Jaypee Capital Services.

During the week,FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1,345.33 crore. DIIs,on the other hand,were net sellers of Rs 2,552.28 crore a net outflow of Rs 1,206.75 crore.

Performance of sectoral indicies remained muted during the week. PSU and consumer durable indices were the best performers and registered a gain of 0.53 and 0.46 per cent respectively. Consumer goods and oil and gas,on the other hand,were the worst performers and were down by 4.82 per cent and 3.49 per cent respectively. Though there has been an inflow of FII funds,the index is not giving much of the direction. Its a very stock specific market. Consumer and energy sector looks good while telecom and pharma may lead the fall, said Sachdeva.

Markets are expected to trade in the range unless we see Nifty breaking down 5,320 which could trigger selling. For the second half of the year,assuming that there are no global bad cues,the only thing markets will look at is the continued growth.

As far as commodities are concerned,gold is trading at 1171.80,down by 1.4 per cent during the week. Crude also dropped to 77.70,down by 1.5 per cent during the week. The prices fell on a surprise crude oil inventory build and the weak economic data. Suneeti Ahuja Kohli