Weekly Wrap: Sensex closed 0.71 per cent higher this week

Indian indices ended the week on with volatile trading on Friday. The Indian benchmarks, Nifty and Sensex ended Friday’s trading session lower by 23 points and 117 points, respectively, after a strong opening session.

On weekly basis, equity benchmarks stretched gains for the third successive week, clocking weekly gaining streak from April month. The BSE Sensex closed 0.71 per cent higher this week to end at 39,714.20 and the Nifty ended at 11,922.80, up 0.66 per cent.

The broader market indices represented by the Nifty 500 Index closed 0.85 per cent higher during the period. Ten out of 11 sectoral gauges compiled by NSE fell, led by the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index’s 1.4 per cent decline. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty IT Index was the only sectoral gainer, up 1.06 per cent.

The week ahead will take cues from the key trigger of Brent crude oil prices. The Brent crude oil on Friday breached levels of US$65 per barrel in intraday trade. Lower crude oil prices are always considered as positive for industries such as aviation, paints etc.

Going ahead, the key trigger for the market would be core sector and fiscal deficit data. The fiscal deficit figures for the year FY19 was at 3.4 per cent. For the month of April, eight core industries grew at 2.6 per cent as against 4.9 per cent in March.