Markets Continue To Be Buoyant

Overall, all indices reported gains during the fortnight owing to strong investor sentiments as well as continuing market rallies. PSU stocks and PSU banks continued to remain in the limelight in the last few weeks.

Over the last few weeks the markets continued to rally, pinning their hopes on positive vaccine-related news while all along expecting governments to roll out additional stimulus packages. Investors remained highly cautious, focusing on particular stocks and sectors for investing opportunities that exhibited relative growth strengths. During the fortnight, the volatility index, India VIX, slipped 2.56 per cent. Looking at global indices, NASDAQ rose by 3.19 per cent while S & P 500 and DJIA were up by 1.55 per cent and 0.97 per cent on hopes of more stimuli. Market sentiments remained mixed in Europe due to uncertainty and lack of clarity about the Brexit deal. Indices such as FTSE 100 and DAX gained 2.29 per cent and 0.20 per cent while CAC 40 was down 1.21 per cent.

In the Asian markets, Hang Seng declined 2.56 per cent whereas Nikkei increased a mere 0.16 per cent. Shanghai Composite index was down 1.21 per cent. Domestic indices, Sensex and Nifty, outperformed global indices, gaining by 4.79 per cent and 4.62 per cent during the fortnight. Sensex and Nifty were seen touching record highs multiple times during the last few weeks. On the sectoral front, the metal index was the biggest gainer during the fortnight, up by 11.09 per cent followed by the realty index gaining 10.68 per cent. The FMCG index rose by 7.07 per cent. The IT, power and healthcare indices were up by 4.57 per cent, 4.08 per cent and 4.04 per cent, respectively. The banking index rose by 3.76 per cent while the automotive index gained by 2.85 per cent. 

Overall, all indices reported gains during the fortnight owing to strong investor sentiments as well as continuing market rallies. PSU stocks and PSU banks continued to remain in the limelight in the last few weeks. In the broader markets, the small-cap index was up by 4.87 per cent while the mid-cap index rallied by 4.84 per cent. During the fortnight, gold prices rose by 0.83 per cent to Rs 51,150 for 10 grams of 24 carat gold. WTI crude prices increased by 4.59 per cent to USD 47.62 from USD 45.53 while Brent crude prices gained by 5.20 per cent to USD 50.76 from USD 48.25. Trading data shows that FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 41,422.08 crore while DIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 25,315.9 crore during the previous fortnight.