How the mighty have fallen...

Global concerns over a US economic recession, and spiraling commodity prices led to a meltdown on the Indian bourses during the week, with the Sensex ending in the red on 3 out of the 4 sessions. For the week ended March 7, 2008, the Sensex lost 9.1%, while the Nifty shed 8.7%.

The week began on a dismal note, as the broader markets could not recover from the opening blues triggered by the fall in US markets the previous week. Banking stocks ended up among the key losers as the BSE Sensex recorded its second highest absolute fall of 901 points. The NSE Nifty shed 271 points. The negative sentiments did not subside on Tuesday even though there was buying interest in heavyweights from the auto, power and cement space. The Sensex lost 319 points, while the Nifty ended lower by 82 points.

However, Wednesday witnessed a change from the downward spiral as IT and FMCG stocks came to the rescue of the indices. The Sensex gained 204 points, while the Nifty added 70 points. After the holiday on Thursday, the markets had yet another dismal day with the Sensex closing below 16,000 for the first time since it began its surge in September 2007. Thus, the BSE Sensex closed at 15,976 (down 567 points) while the NSE Nifty closed at 4,772 (down 150 points) during the last trading day of the week.

On the institutional activity front, between 29th February and 6th March, FIIs emerged as net sellers of equities to the tune of Rs 15 bn (according to figures available), while mutual funds sold equities to the tune of Rs 4 bn (according to figures available).

Source: Equity Master