As markets gain momentum, experts see a gradual slowdown

A ritual is in progress with 18 types of grains and a water filled pot for the monsoon and crops at Bhendwad village in Buldhana in Maharashtra PicPTIMarkets continued to gain for a fourth consecutive week but it appears that the momentum is slowing down BSESENSEX was up 22293 points or 065 per cent to close at 3441558 points NIFTY was up 8345 points or 079 per cent to close at 1056405 points The broader indices like the BSE100 BSE200 and BSE500 gained 085 per cent 089 per cent and 090 per cent respectively BSEMIDCAP was up 072 per cent while BSESMALLCAP was up 108 per centTip topThe top sectoral gainer was BSEMETAL up 432 per cent followed by BSEIT 415 per cent and BSEFMCG 395 per cent The top loser was BSEOILampGAS down 232 per cent followed by BSEBANKEX 161 per cent In individual stocks the top gainer was TCS up 750 per cent followed by Bharti Tele 573 per cent and ITC 549 per cent The top loser was Axis Bank down 713 per cent followed by Tata Motors 607 per cent The three oil marketing companies were big losers too with HPCL down 1166 per cent followed by BPCL 908 per cent and IOC 296 per cent The worry is that with elections in Karnataka these companies would not be able to pass on the crude price hike coupled with the fall in the rupee value While this is true the fact that they would report sharp inventory gains in the quarter under review is also correct The price constraints if at all true would be for a very short timeMonsoon moodThe monsoon is expected to be 97 per cent normal of the longterm average and this augurs well for agriculture and a greater part of Indias economy Some of the gains witnessed in the market is because of this forecast from the MET department and similarly two other private agencies Dow Jones managed marginal gains and was up 10280 points or 042 per cent at 2446294 points The Indian Rupee was under considerable pressure and lost 92 paisa or 139 per cent to close at R 6612 to the US Dollar The week ahead sees the April futures expiring on Thursday April 26 Currently the bulls have an upper hand with the series trading at 1056405 points a gain of 45035 points or 426 per cent The momentum is slowing down and the bulls may have a hard time to keep the gains in the remaining four days of the series If there is no positive news flow expect markets to weaken into expiry after our fourweek uptrendGreat goingTCS announced excellent numbers and the street responded with a thumbs up to the same The share recorded sharp gains of Rs 215 for the day The gains for the week were Rs 25540 or 75 per cent The market cap of the company is fast approaching the 100billiondollar mark This would be the first company to achieve the same Had it not been for the sharp rupee depreciation last week TCS would have achieved the mark last week itselfA lullSpeaking about TCS and Infosys the gap between the valuations has increased significantly While TCS trades at 2678 times its twelve months EPS of Rs 12703 Infosys trades at 1593 times its EPS of Rs 7397 This difference is on account of superior growth expected earnings and the confidence of the management There was no news on the primary market with no new issues or roadshows Probably there is a lull and it may take some time before issues return to the primary marketStellar gainsMishra Dhatu Nigam Limited a public sector company listed on April 4 has shown spectacular performance so far Shares were issued at Rs 90 and closed at Rs 17085 The gain during the week was Rs 5975 or 5378 per cent The gain since listing was even more spectacular at Rs 8085 or 8983 per cent Seldom has one associated such a performance with the public sector and even the private sector has not seen such gains on a regular basis What has happened is indeed intriguing and upper circuits have become quite a norm in this companyPressure pointsWith expiry in the coming week and four consecutive weekly gains market is likely to be under pressure Take some money off the table after a successful uptrend and wait for the correction before reentering the markets Result season has just begun and its very early days as yet Be patient Everyones time will comeArun Kejriwal is founder of the Mumbaibased advisory firm Kejriwal Research Investment Services Pvt Ltd Disclaimer No financial information whatsoever published anywhere in this newspaper should be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities or as advice to do so in any way whatsoever All matter published here is for educational and information purposes onlyCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates