By IANS
Mumbai : A strong rally in bluechip stocks, especially Reliance Industries and Larsen and Toubro, led to a key Indian equities index peaking to all-time highs for the third successive trading week ended Friday.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) registered an impressive gain of 292.83 points, or 1.92 percent, at 15,565.55 points Friday and jumped to its the highest ever closing level.
For the broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange, the gains were slightly lower at 1.4 percent, though this index, too, ended at an all-time high.
Moving ahead, analysts expect the market to be in a corrective mood in the ensuing sessions as the barometer index has risen by a robust 1,066.31 points, or 7.35 percent over the past month.
According to Divya Arora of Karvy Stock Broking, the 4,600-point level will be a major resistance point for the Nifty, even though some stocks like Reliance Industries and Larsen and Toubro continued to look attractive.
"If the market crosses the 4,600-point level, then it may go up further. Or else the BSE Sensex may go down by roughly around 300 to 400 points," Divya said, pointing out that valuations were rather stretched across sectors.
But analysts like Kartik Sadagopan of KJMC Capital Markets were bullish on the banking sector, even as technical analysts said the market might not face major setbacks till August as a lot of companies were yet to announce their results.
"Inflation has also been largely tamed which should boost sentiments."
The 30-share Sensex started the week under review on a positive note and gained 38.50 points, or 0.3 percent Monday, but fell marginally by 21.40 points, or 0.1 percent the next day.
Then onward, the key index added points on each of the three remaining days in the trading week. Wednesday saw the index adding 11.35 points, or 0.09 percent, followed by a massive rally of 248.96 points, or 1.63 percent, Thursday.
The mood was mixed on Friday, but yet, the Sensex managed to gain 15.42 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 15,565.55 points.
Data with the markets watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India, showed that foreign funds invested massively in each of the five days during the week under review.
Foreign Institutional Investors made purchases worth $1.73 billion during the week with a massive $575.5 billion Monday and equally notable $404.10 million Tuesday.