Previous Week : Sensex on a weekly basis closed below the psychological 16,000 mark as it closed down 292.84 points
Indian equity benchmarks extended its losses to fifth consecutive week as the key indices hit its 18 month low. Heavy selling by foreign funds this month and weak global shares also weighed on sentiment. Nifty started the week in a positive note but faced heavy selling pressure near 4950 level, the sell off intensified in the second half of the week as the indices closed near the low of the week.
  • The Sensex on a weekly basis closed below the psychological 16,000 mark as it closed down 292.84 points or -1.8%, to close at 15848.83 levels whereas the Nifty ended down 97.85 points, or -2.0%, to close at 4747.80 levels
  • State Bank of India, Maruti, Reliance Capital, Axis Bank, and Tata Steel were the major draggers in the index during last week trade where as Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and BHEL were the major movers
  • India's food inflation for the week ended August 13 increased to 9.8% on a week-on-week basis from 9.03% for the week ended August 6 while the fuel price index remained unchanged at 13.13%
  • Nymex crude increased 3.2% on a weekly basis to close at $85 /barrel (on Thursday)
  • The week also witnessed slightly positive economic data from the US
  • The durable goods orders stood at $201.5 billion, an increase of $7.7 billion or 4% from the previous month against an expectation of a 2% increase
  • For the first time since 2006, a drop in the number of troubled banks was witnessed, which fell to 865 in the second quarter from 888 in the first quarter
  • New home sales declined another 0.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000 homes, according to an Aug. 23, 2011 U.S. Census Bureau report
  • Initial jobless claims rose to 417,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 412,000 against an expectation of 405,000
  • On Wednesday, rating agency Moody Ts cut Japan government debt rating to AA3 on account of large budget deficits and mounting debt since 2009 global recession

Week Ahead : FIIs have been net sellers since last 5 trading sessions
Nifty during last week trade reacted sharply from the downward sloping trendline joining the high of July 26, 2011 (5702) and August 4, 2011 (5434.50), the selling pressure intensified in the last trading day of the week as the Nifty closed the week below 4750 level. The above trendline is currently placed at 4900 level which will act as an immediate hurdle in case of any pull back from the current level.
  • The short and medium term trend is clearly bearish with immediate support around 4675 which is the low of 2010, breaching below the support level the index can test 4550-4600 in the coming week
  • At the higher end, key resistance is marked in the range of 4900-4950. Until we see a faster retracement of the recent fall, prospects of a trend reversal appear bleak
  • In the month of August till date (August 25) FIIs sold shares worth 12168 crores while DII were net buyers to the tune of 8112 crores. FIIs have been net sellers since last 5 trading sessions
  • Key data to watch globally would be US Federal Reserve chairman's speech at a central bank conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday in which he is expected to outline path for economic recovery
  • Another data will be US new home sales, US real personal consumption expenditure, GDP US personal income (month on month), US consumer confidence, US GDP, US construction spending
  • In India the key data to watch next week would be weekly inflation and India GDP nos (Q1)