By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets closed the week on a tepid note with benchmark indices ending flat compared to the previous week and broader indices nudging up moderately, brushing aside data which showed a spike in industrial output.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed the week at 18,531.28 points, up a marginal 12.47 points or 0.07 percent from its previous weekly close of 18,518.81 points.
At the National Stock Exchange, the 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty too closed flat at 5,544.75 points, compared to its previous Friday close of 5,551.45 points.
Broader market indices did slightly better, with the BSE midcap index closing 0.57 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index moving up 0.31 percent.
“Commodity prices continued to remain the main focus of financial markets. There was significant volatility in commodity prices. Equity markets during the week showed strong correlation with the commodity prices especially crude prices,” said Sanjeev Zarbade, vice president, private client group research, Kotak Securities.
“Indian markets remained soft for the week on concerns related to economic slowdown. The sentiment remained weak for the Indian markets as it even shrugged off a much higher than expected IIP (index of industrial production) data,” he added.
At 7.3 percent, India’s industrial output in March grew the fastest in almost five months, helped by strong manufacturing growth but economists said the rise in production levels may not be matched in the coming months.
On a weekly basis, among the top gainers on the 30-scrip Sensex were: Hindustan Unilever, up 14.3 percent at Rs.306.45; DLF, up 6.8 percent at Rs.232.20; Hero Honda, up 5.9 percent at Rs.1,795.50 and Tata Motors, up 5.8 percent at Rs.1,210.90.
Major Sensex losers included: Maruti Suzuki, down 2.8 percent at Rs.1,224.30; HDFC, down 2.5 percent at Rs.646.75; ONGC, down 2.3 percent at Rs.304.70, and Tata Power, down 1.8 percent at Rs.1,231.20.
Asian markets ended a mixed bag.
Among the Asian markets, the Japanese Nikkei average ended the week 2.31 percent lower at 9,648.77 points, while the Shanghai composite index of the Chinese stock exchanges rose 0.25 percent at 2,871.03 points.
The Hang Seng of the Hong Kong stock exchange closed 0.51 percent higher at 23,276.27 points.
The European stocks markets closed in losses even as euro-zone economic growth rose in the first quarter of the current year, according to latest data, helped by better than expected growth in the region’s leading economies – Germany and France.
Among the European markets, the German DAX closed 1.19 percent lower at 7,403.31 points while the French CAC 40 ended 0.97 percent lower at 4,018.85 points. Britain’s FTSE too closed in the red at 5,9250.87 points, down 0.85 percent.
Wall Street too closed the week on a weak note with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending 0.34 percent lower at 12,595.75 points, while the S&P 500 moved down 0.18 percent at 1,337.77 points.
The technology heavy Nasdaq ended flat at 2,828.47 points.