Markets end flat, post weekly gains

Equities ended flat on Friday as investor chose to remain cautious ahead of the release of key macroeconomic data (announced after market hours) amid weak global cues. The Nifty declined 10 points (0.07%) to close at 15,163.3 while the Sensex rose 12.78 points (0.02%) to 51,544.3.

The Nifty is up by 11.21% since the start of February. Interestingly, there was a 6.5% correction in the markets during the week before the Budget.

For the week, the Sensex, Nifty and Nifty Bank gained close to 1% each. The broader markets, however, outperformed Nifty’s gains, with the Nifty Midcap100 rallying by 2% for the week.

The markets during the week were largely helped by positive global cues. On Friday, the European markets traded with caution and most Asian markets were closed for trade. Indices in France and the UK were up by 0.1%, but Germany’s Dax was down by 0.4%.

According to Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, global cues were mixed as markets reacted to corporate earnings amid lack of fresh triggers. “Investors remained on the sidelines ahead of key macroeconomic data releases amid lack of fresh buying triggers.”

The markets were dragged by selling in FMCG and pharmaceutical stocks after cigarettes-to-hospitality conglomerate ITC fell by 3.9% after reporting its third quarter results – profit came in lower than expected. On the other hand, after two days of underperformance to the benchmarks, the Nifty Bank rose on Friday, gaining 1%.

Foreign portfolio investors on Friday sold stocks for the first time in February. Provisional data showed that FPIs pulled out $4 million from equities.