ICICI Direct: Weekly Equity Pulse

Previous Week

The market remained extremely choppy and range bound for the previous week except on the last trading day. Both indices started the week with a weak undertone on negative sentiments across the globe. After showing weakness for a couple of days the market bounced back sharply on Friday during the later half due to strong gains in the Hang Seng and positive sentiments in the European market. On a week-on-week basis, the BSE Sensex lost 233 points or 1.5% to close at 15,689.12. The S&P CNX Nifty ended at 4680.40, down 52 points or 1.1%. On Monday, data showed that the Indian GDP grew by 6.1% YoY in the second quarter. This was almost in line with expectations. Without any new trigger, the market remained choppy. However, at every downfall it got support from short covering and that restricted further fall. During the week the global economic data remained mostly positive.

Week Ahead

For the last few weeks the Indian market has been witnessing range bound movements. The Sensex has been capped below the 16000 mark, while the Nifty has also been unable to breach the 4725 mark confidently. Though some of the global cues continue to be supportive for the market, a sharp fall in the Chinese market kept the momentum restricted. In the coming week also the overall movement is likely to be range bound. However, it would be interesting to see whether the indices can breach the psychological levels. That should decide the undertone for the short-term.

Pick of the Week

Buy Petronet LNG Ltd (PETLNG) CMP: Rs. 74.10/- Target: Rs. 81.50/- Potential upside: 10%. Time frame: 3 months.