Defying domestic negative issues, both the key indices, Sensex and Nifty, logged their biggest weekly gains in absolute terms in more than two years during the week under review after the European leaders on Thursday reached a plan to resolve the debt problems.

The markets were closed for regular trading on October 26, but were open between 4.45 pm and 6 pm for special ‘Muharat’ trading. They were closed on October 27 for Diwali.

The total investor wealth, measured in terms of cumulative market value of all listed stocks, soared to Rs 62,64,794 crore this week from Rs 59,98,751 crore last week. On Friday alone, a 516-point rally on Sensex made investors richer by Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed up and traded in the positive terrain during the week between 17,908.13 and 16,898.60 before concluding the week at a three-month high of 17,804.80, a rise of 1,019.16 points or 6.07 per cent. The Sensex had shot up by 1,240.70 points or 9.19 per cent in the trading week July 13-July 17, 2009.

Similarly, the NSE broad-based Nifty gyrated in a range between 5,399.70 and 5,084.75 before settling the week at a three-month high of 5,360.70, exhibiting a surge of 310.75 points or 6.15 per cent.

Buying was seen across a raft of segments as 12 out of 13 sectoral indices on the BSE closed with sharp gains between 9.39 per cent and 2.51 per cent with metal, realty, refinery, IT and power scrips leading the pack. Only BSE-CD ended in the red, declining marginally by 1.08 per cent.

Overall, 28 out of 30 Sensex-based scrips ended with sharp to moderate gains, while banking majors HDFC Bank and SBI finished in the red.

The Reserve Bank of India had on Tuesday raised its lending rates (repo and reverse repo) by 25 basis points — 13th hike since March 2010 — and lowered the GDP growth projection to 7.6 per cent for the current fiscal.

However, hint of a pause in RBI policy stance provided some relief to investors, analysts said. The rate hike will make all loans, including home and auto, costly and crimp corporate margins, but the RBI move was well anticipated and already factored in share prices, they maintained.

Frenzied short-coverings on the last day of settlement on Tuesday in derivative contracts also supported the rally.

On the global front, Asian stocks closed strong in the week, posting best weekly gains in the last couple of years, after the European leaders on Thursday agreed to a long-awaited plan to resolve the two-year debt crisis. The plan encouraged investors to put money back in riskier assets like stocks.

Higher-than-expected US economic data too further boosted the sentiment.

Key indices from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan closed the week up between 4.28 per cent and 11.06 per cent.

European markets finished higher between 3.89 per cent and 6.28 per cent. In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index, too, registered weekly gains of 3.58 per cent and 3.78 per cent, respectively.

European Union members agreed in their summit to raise the eurozone bailout fund to about €one trillion and also to recapitalise banks. The EU struck a deal with private lenders to accept a 50 per cent on their Greek bonds which further boosted the market sentiment.

Back home, the market also shrugged off a sharp rise in food inflation to 11.43 per cent for the week ended October 15 from 10.60 per cent in the preceding week.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE-Metal spurted by 9.39 per cent followed by BSE-Realty 8.48 per cent, BSE-Auto 8.17 per cent, BSE-Oil & Gas 6.12 per cent, BSE-IT 5.51 per cent, BSE-Power 5.16 per cent, BSE-Teck 4.91 per cent, BSE-FMCG 4.71 per cent and BSE-CG 4.52 per cent.

Second-line stocks underperformed the Sensex due to lack of major participation by retail investors. BSE-Smallcap and BSE-Midcap indices settled up by 1.97 per cent and 2.67 per cent, respectively.

Hindalco was top gainer from the Sensex pack with a rise of 16.89 per cent. Sterlite Industries flared up by 15.46 per cent, Tata Steel 11.21 per cent, Jindal Steel 9.38 per cent, DLF 10.06 per cent, Jaiprakash Associates 12.94 per cent, Tata Motors 15.87 per cent, Bajaj Auto 6.94 per cent, M&M 8.41 per cent, Hero MotoCo 5.13 per cent and Maruti Suzuki 3.26 per cent.

RIL jumped by 7.49 per cent, ONGC 7.23 per cent, Infosys 5.02 per cent, TCS 6.81 per cent, Wipro 5.34 per cent, NTPC 5.52 per cent, Tata Power 4.32 per cent, Bharti Airtel 3.70 per cent, L&T 5.78 per cent, BHEL 2.32 per cent, Coal India 3.06 per cent, HDFC 8.30 per cent, ICICI Bank 7.19 per cent, ITC 5.64 per cent, HUL 7.16 per cent, Sun Pharma 4.55 per cent and Cipla 3.90 per cent.

The total turnover on the NSE and NSE was relatively at Rs 7,693.97 crore and Rs 40,446.64 crore, respectively due to truncated week in view of Diwali against last week-end level of Rs 12,017.07 crore and Rs 45,481.22 crore.

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