Sensex Logs Biggest Weekly Fall in 2015; Down Over 3%

Mumbai: Starting the week with "Black Monday" on massive sell-off in global markets due to fears of an earlier-than-expected US interest rates hike, the S&P BSE Sensex and CNX Nifty continued to decline for most of the week.

Rising inflation also weighed on market sentiment on Friday as it dashed hopes of aggressive interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

On Monday, after US Labour Department said unemployment fell to 5.5 per cent in February, the lowest level since May 2008, speculation was triggered that the US Fed will lift rates from near-zero as early as summer which hit the emerging markets, including India.

The rupee's plunge to two-month lows too kept the market on a shaky ground. It had tumbled by 604.17 points, or 2.05 per cent, on Monday, registering biggest single day fall after January 6, 2015, when it had plunged by 854.86 points.

However, the market gained some ground on Thursday on positive developments like passage of Insurance Bill in Rajya Sabha, rise in Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and IMF report raising forecasts of India's economic growth to 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex resumed lower and remained in negative terrain throughout the week, moving between a wide range of over 870 points, before concluding the week at 2,8503.30, revealing a sharp fall of 945.65 points, or 3.21 per cent.

In last four weeks, it has risen by 731.04 points, or 2.55 per cent.

This is the biggest fall in current calender year, since second week of December 2014, when it had plummeted by 1,107.42 points, or 3.89 per cent.

The 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also stumbled by 290 points, or 3.24 per cent, to end the week at two-month low of 8,647.75. It moved between a high of 8,891.30 and a low of 8,631.75.

Investors are turning a bit more cautious at this juncture and paring long positions due to uncertainty in global markets and caution ahead of US Fed meet next week, a trader said.

"Uptick in food inflation could continue into March with rain disruptions over last month causing some short term flare ups... given the limited room to manoeuvre, the central bank can ill afford to cut policy rates aggressively from here," said HSBC's Chief India economist Pranjul Bhandari.

Overall, 24 out of 30 Sensex-based scrips closed with losses while others finished with gains.

Hindalco was the top loser with a fall of 10.95 per cent after its promoter Kumar Mangalam Birla was summoned as accused by a special court in coal scam case.

Other losers were Axis Bank (7.54 per cent), L&T (7.21 per cent), SSLT (6.90 per cent), Tata Power (6.51 per cent), BHEL (5.53 per cent), ICICI Bank (5.03 per cent), Tata Steel (4.91 per cent), Bajaj Auto (4.60 per cent), Cipla (4.57 per cent), Wipro (4.52 per cent), HDFC (4.42 per cent), SBI (4.36 per cent).

Besides, it included TCS (4.28 per cent), Gail India (4.16 per cent), HDFC Bank (3.89 per cent), RIL (3.87 per cent), ITC (1.98 per cent), Infosys (1.57 per cent) and Sun Pharma (2.43 per cent).

However, Bharti Airtel was the prominent gainer from the Sensex pack with a rise of 15.08 per cent after analysts said bidding intensity in the ongoing spectrum auction has subsided a bit.

Other gainers were Tata Motors (2.38 per cent) and NTPC (1.14 per cent).