Markets gain marginally capping volatile week

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex ended with mild gains after a see-saw session on Friday, capping a week of volatility amid concerns over global growth and rate tightening by central banks. A depreciating rupee and foreign fund outflows further crimped risk appetite, traders said.

The 30-share Sensex oscillated between gains and losses during the session before finally ending just 36.74 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 58,803.33. The NSE Nifty dipped 3.35 points or 0.02 per cent to end at 17,539.45. HDFC was the top performer in the Sensex pack, spurting 1.75 per cent, followed by ITC, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and SBI. However, Maruti, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India, PowerGrid, Tata Steel and Infosys were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.19 per cent.

"The market has struggled for a firm direction today as global markets were largely under selling pressure ahead of the release of US jobs data, which could provide insight into upcoming Fed actions. "Oil prices rose ahead of the OPEC+ meeting on the expectation of a reduction in output, despite the fact that weak global growth prospects remain a concern.

A surging dollar index and rising US bond yields could be reflected in the elevated volatility of the domestic market in the near term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. During the holiday-shortened week, the Sensex dipped 30.54 points or 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty lost 19.45 points or 0.11 per cent. "Broader market has been outperforming well and is likely to remain in flavour with action in niche midcap sectors," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.