It does not appear that this week is going to be as favourable for the bulls as last week was. If anything, the first trading day of February was certainly disappointing. Tracking the subdued Asian markets on Monday, the Sensex opened at 9340.37 and touched a high of 9363.58 before sliding downward to eventually close at 9006.70.
Banking and realty stocks were the worst hit. Banking stocks fell on fears that tough economic conditions could lead to more bad loans for banks, while real estate stocks slid after DLF and Unitech showed drastic fall in profits. The biggest Sensex losers were Jaiprakash Associates, DLF, Reliance Infrastructure, ICICI Bank and HDFC. All sectoral indices had a weak outing. But incidentally, strong buying was evident in few mid-cap stocks. In fact, Veer Energy and SJ Corporation hit new highs.
Global apprehensions persist about the effectiveness of the new stimulus package announced by the Obama Government. Last week data revealed that the U.S. economy contracted at its fastest pace in well over 2 decades. This week, it will be the monthly U.S. jobs data report that will be keenly awaited. Though one can be sure that it is going to add to the overall gloom.
Domestically, with the quarterly results season drawing to an end, it will be global sentiment and politics that will dominate over the next few months.
