Weekly market wrap: Friday's buying saves the week; Q4 results to watch out for

Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty extended their gains for the second straight week, thanks to some buying on April 8. The 30-share index Sensex advanced 170 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 59,447.18. Likewise, the 50-share Nifty index added 113.90 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 17784.35.

As many as 40 components in the Nifty packed settled the week in the green with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gaining the most 6.82 per cent. It was followed by NTPC (up 6.37 per cent), Grasim Industries (up 6.07 per cent), ITC (up 5.72 per cent) and Hero MotoCorp (up 5.46 per cent).

On the other hand, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, TCS and Maruti Suzuki declined somewhere between 1 per cent and 4.70 per cent.

Overall, the domestic equity market kicked off the week on a positive note following buying in banking and financial counters after the announcement of the merger between HDFC Bank and HDFC.

Thereafter, the market witnessed some profit booking after weak macroeconomic data. Meanwhile, a hike in petrol and diesel prices further dampened sentiment. On the other hand, buying on the final day of the week after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-led monetary policy committee (MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent and aided D-Street to keep its neck above water.

In its first monetary policy for FY23, the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged for the eleventh time in a row. The MPC also decided to continue with its 'accommodative' stance of policy.

Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives, Angel One said, "Post the monetary policy, the market took it positively and ended the week slightly inside the safe terrain. For the coming week, 17,600 followed by 17,400 are likely to provide some cushion for the Nifty index and till the time, we do not close below these key levels, we would continue with our 'Buy on decline' strategy. On the flip side, the first sign of strength would be visible after surpassing the 17,900-mark."

Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, the Power index gained 8.97 per cent in the past five trading sessions. BSE FMCG, Metal, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and Healthcare gained between 2 per cent and 5 per cent. The BSE TECk (down 2.34 per cent), IT (down 2.13 per cent) and Realty (down 0.01 per cent) settled the week in the red.

Market factors to watch out for next week

In the forthcoming week, the earnings season will kick off with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) results on April 11 and Infosys on April 13. Market participants would also be eyeing the release of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, scheduled to be released on April 12. Industrial production in India grew 1.3 per cent year-on-year in January of 2022, advancing from an upwardly revised 0.7 per cent rise in December, but missed market expectations of a 1.5 per cent rise.

Commenting on the next week, Yesha Shah, head of equity research, Samco Securities said, "Inflation and results will take centre stage in the coming week. While global investors will be influenced by the inflation numbers of the United States and China, the CPI print in India will be an important domestic indicator to keep an eye on. A higher-than-expected jump in inflation might provoke knee-jerk reactions. Additionally, Indian IT firms will be in the spotlight as the leaders will announce their Q4 results. While largely the consensus is that the revenue growth will soften sequentially, important factors that D-Street will track are the margins, revenue guidance, and attrition numbers."

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