ICICI Direct Weekly Equity Pulse

Indian markets completed their 13th straight week of gains last week on the back of strong market sentiment and positive global cues. Major economic data released during the week for US, Japan, China, Germany and UK indicated towards a gradual recovery which helped the markets across the globe. Volatility remained higher during the intra-day trade and both sided movement was seen in the previous week. On a week-on-week basis, the BSE Sensex surged 478 points or more than 3% to close at 15103.55. The S&P CNX Nifty ended at 4586.90, up 138 points or more than 3%.

Week Ahead

The movement in the market for the last couple of weeks has been suggesting that participants were worried about the direction of the market. Though the market has been rallying for the last 13 weeks, participants still did not seem to be fully convinced about the further strong upside from these levels. This is leading to some profit booking at the higher level. On the other hand, short covering has also been witnessed at the downside. Also, the domestic funds seems to be putting in money resisting the sharp fall. This is likely to continue for some time before the market gets any clear direction. Next week India’s industrial production data is due for April. This should have some impact on the market. Also, in the global space, there would be some important economic data including UK and Euro Zone industrial production for April, Japan Q1 GDP and US advance retail sales for May. This will likely affect the market sentiment.