MUMBAI, Oct 4 (Business Standard): Benchmark indices posted second weekly decline in a volatile week as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continued to maintain status quo on key policy rates while selling by foreign investors also dampened sentiment in the truncated week ended October 1.
Foreign investor sales remained net sellers in five of the previous six trading sessions.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India at its fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 8 per cent and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).
The civil unrest in Hong Kong and the expected US employment data stroked fear of an earlier than expected rate hike in US.
For the week ended October 1, the Sensex slipped 58 points or 0.2 per cent at 26,568 and the Nifty lost ground by 23 points or 0.3 per cent to close at 7,945.
Underperformance continued in the broader markets. The small-cap index was down 1.4 per cent and the midcap index was off by 0.7 per cent.
Defensives pockets like IT and Health Care indices clocked in gains of over 4 per cent each. Consumer Durables was another preferred pocket, betting on festive gains, edged higher by nearly 2 per cent.
On the other hand, realty, power, metal, oil & gas, FMCG and banking index slipped 2-4.5 per cent.
Pharma major, Sun Pharma advanced over 10 per cent during the week and was the top gainer of the week followed by IT majors TCS, Infosys and Wipro which added 5 per cent.
Cipla, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank and NTPC up 0.6-4 per cent were the only other scrips to end in green.
Among the major losers for the week were Reliance Industries, Axis bank, Tata Power, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and BHEL down 4-6 per cent.
IT majors, ITC and HUL slumped 3 per cent each on profit taking.
The market trend will be dictated by second quarter (July-September) earnings with Infosys scheduled to announce its earnings on October 10.
From the global perspective, US Fed is likely to release minutes of its September 16-17 meeting on Wednesday. Also, movements in crude oil prices will be closely watched.
