Indian weekly: Sensex, Nifty post weekly gains as poll results boost sentiments; volatile crude, Ukraine war weigh

The weekly action in brief

The Nifty 50 started the week on a weak note, but for the remaining 4 days, investors saw one of the best weekly rallies. Sensex and Nifty rose for four consecutive sessions to Friday, the longest winning streak in nearly two months. The rising crude oil prices remain a concern. However, the state election results turned out as expected. It cheered the investors as a stable government is getting formed in all five states.

Daily movement in Nifty 50

On Monday, the market opened with a huge gap down and traded sideways as investors remained worried about the rising crude oil prices, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued. FII continued to pull money from the Indian market, and the rupee touched nearly 77 mark per dollar.

The market on Tuesday again opened negative and continued to slide down. However, in the second half, a sharp recovery was seen, and most of the NIFTY50 stock ended in the green. The market closed in the green after four consecutive red closures. The Brent crude touched $139 a barrel.

The market opened with a gap-up opening on Wednesday and continued to stay positive throughout the day following a strong buying on Tuesday. Reliance soared 5%, and being index heavyweight, it ensured NIFTY and SENSEX ended 2% and 2.2% higher, respectively. Crude oil prices crashed 17%, the biggest fall in years.

The day was driven by positive news from the state election results. On Thursday, the market opened with a gap-up (2.5%) and went as high as 3% in the initial hours. However, around noon some profit booking was seen but the market closed 1.5% higher. The airline stocks were in the news as the government gave the nod to resume international flights from 27 March.

The Indian market opened on a negative note on Friday. It was a highly volatile day for traders as the market fluctuated between losses and gains. Despite the high volatility, the market closed on a positive note with SENSEX closing 86 points higher.

Here is a quick recap of the market moving developments:

Rupee hits record low - The Indian rupee hit its lowest level against the US dollar amid soaring oil prices and continued outflows by foreign portfolio investors. The rupee has now fallen to 76.95 against US Dollar, as against its previous low of 76.91 in April 2020. Factors such as higher oil prices, FII outflows from equity amid the Ukraine war indicate that the rupee could depreciate further from current levels Analysts expect that the rupee could go down to 78 levels against the USD in the near-future. 

TCS Buyback - TCS share buyback window opened this week. The window opened on 9 March and will close on 23 March. Retail investors holding less than 56 shares can sell 1 share for every 7 shares they hold in the company. For the general category, the ratio is 1:108. Check our detailed report on the TCS buyback.

LIC IPO gets SEBI approval - Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) gets SEBI’s nod to raise funds through an initial share sale. With the clearance from SEBI, the government can now launch LIC’s share sale. However, with the increasing inflation and geopolitical tension, the government may delay the much-awaited LIC IPO and launch in the next financial year. Check out our detailed report to find more.