Indian Market Weekly: Nifty Ended 3% Higher For The Week Amid High Volatility
The market started the week on a positive note but remained volatile during the week. The highlight of the week was the LIC listing. Let us look at all that happened this week.
Indian equity indices snapped out of a six-session losing streak on Monday led by financial and automobile stocks. Even the mid-cap and small rallied on the day. The slowdown in the US remained a worry for Indian investors.
The Indian market continued the rally on Tuesday taking cues from global peers which rose on optimism about an easing of China’s crackdowns on tech and Covid-19. LIC made a weak debut on the stock exchange with an 8% discount. Check what an investor should do here.
On Wednesday, the market opened on a positive and after consolidation in the first half, it surpassed the 16000 mark. Both the major indices gave one of the sharpest rallies of recent times gaining over 400 points.
The three-day winning streak was broken on Thursday as benchmark equity indices crashed by over 2.6% tracking a fall in the global markets. All the sectoral indices on NSE ended with sharp cuts on Thursday. The Nifty IT index was the top loser on Thursday, falling 5.74%.
The market recovered the previous day's loss on Friday and ended nearly 3% higher taking cues from its global peers which rose after China cut a key lending benchmark to support a slowing economy. Reliance led the rally with over 6% rally.
Key highlights of the week:
Quarterly results: The earning season has slowed down but many big names reported their results this week. Bharti Airtel's profit soared 164% and ARPU also increased. Check the detailed report here. ITC reported a 12% jump in profits and both topline and bottomline were above estimate. Check the detailed result here. Dr. Reddy's profit tanked for Q4FY22 despite an increase in revenue. Check details here.
JP Morgan downgrades the Indian IT sector: Brokerage firm JP Morgan has downgraded the Indian IT service sector to 'UNDERWEIGHT' and has cut the target price between 10 and 20%. As per the brokerage firm, the IT sector is likely to worsen into FY23 for many reasons - tougher competition, supply issues, and eventually a worsening macro. Check the revised target price of companies.
Adani Buys ACC and Ambuja Cements: Adani Group has agreed to buy Holcim's India assets in the two publicly listed cement companies - ACC and Ambuja Cements in a $10.5 billion deal. It is India's largest-ever M&A transaction in the infrastructure and materials space. Adani group will acquire a 63.19% stake in Ambuja cement and a 54.53% stake in ACC cement. Check what it means for the group and the individual share companies.
Barclays on a rate hike in India: Given the hawkish rhetoric in the minutes and continued upside surprises in inflation even in April, the Barclays reports said that the stage could be set for the central bank to undertake front-loaded rate hikes. The firm expects the RBI to now deliver at least a 50 bps policy rate hike at the June policy meeting and to raise the rate to 5.15% by August, before assessing macroeconomic momentum and gauging the need for further hikes.