Indian benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex, ended the week with gains after two consecutive weeks of losses. Last week, Sensex and Nifty climbed by 0.91% and 0.71%, reaching 80,436.84 and 24,541.15, respectively. This market rally was fueled by several positive factors, including strong US economic data, easing inflation in India, and stability in the Japanese yen.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers, offloading Rs 8,616 crore in the cash segment this week. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) maintained their buying momentum, acquiring Rs 10,560 crore in the cash segment.
Next week, the market’s outlook will be influenced by key domestic and global economic data such as HSBC India Services PMI (August), HSBC India Manufacturing PMI (August), FIIs’ buying and selling patterns, US crude oil inventories, FOMC meeting minutes, S&P Global Services PMI (August), and US home sales data for July.
Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, commented, “On the technical charts, Nifty has broken out of the consolidation range between the 50-DMA and 20-DMA, closing above the 20-DMA. This breakout could lead to further bullish momentum, with the 24,800-25,000 zone serving as a key resistance area. On the downside, the 20-DMA around 24,477 will act as immediate support, while the 24,200-24,000 zone remains a critical support area.”
Global markets also saw gains due to better US retail sales data and a decline in weekly jobless claims, alleviating fears of a US recession. Additionally, moderation in US CPI inflation and a drop in the US 10-year yield contributed to a positive close for the week. A market expert noted, “The IT index outperformed by about 5% during the week, anticipating a loose monetary policy from the Fed.”
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equity worth Rs 32,684 crore (till August 17) through the stock exchange while investing Rs 11,483 crore through the primary market and other categories.