Mumbai, May 02: Sensex Sheds 135 Pts During The WeekThe BSE Sensex lost 135.49 points during the week to mark its closure at 17,558.71 on Friday.
Likewise, the broad-based Nifty eased by 26.10 points to close the week at 5,278. The market remained optimistic during three out of five trading sessions during the week.
The European debt crisis spread after S & P cut down its credit rankings on Greece and Portugal.
The Sensex edged higher for the fifth straight day on Monday on strong worldwide stocks and estimatation of a normal monsoon in 2010. The stock market edged lower on Tuesday, snatching gains in the previous five sessions, on weak worldwide stocks.
The key benchmark indices broadened losses for the second straight day on Wednesday, as world stocks reeled from rating downgrades on Greece and Portugal. The market bounced back after a two-day fall on Thursday, chasing gains in European scrips and optimistic US index.
Profit booking during the second half of the day’s trading session capped gains in the key benchmark indices on Friday.
A steep fall of more than 100 basis points in food inflation to 16.61%for the week ended April 17 as compared to 17.65% during the earlier weekend also assisted in market recovery.
The majority of the auto scrips went up ahead of the release of April 2010 monthly sales data by the coming week.
The Indian Meteorological Dept’s projection of a normal monsoon rainfall during June-Sep also encouraged the overall stock market reaction slightly.
Among the major indices, the BSE-Realty declined by 107.67 points and the BSE Oil&Gas lost 171.28 points.
But, the BSE-PSU gained 82.48 points, and the Bankex surged 81.20 points.
The top losers in the Sensex pack included RIL, DLF, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel and JP Ind.
—Agencies