Both Nifty and Sensex ended the week on a positive note. Both Sensex & Nifty were up by around 2.2%. The Midcap and SmallCap indexes outperformed and gained 3.9% and 6.5% respectively.
Sector-wise, metals, banks, Auto, IT, Consumer durables, and oil & gas were the major gainers, while Pharma was the top loser.
Within the Nifty Index, Hindalco (+10.8%), Tata Steel (+10.4%), and SBI (+6.9%) gained the most, while Apollo Hospital (-4.4%), Nestle India (-2.1%), and Cipla (-3.7%) lost the most.
The resurgence of Covid cases in China and other parts of the world brought back worries of an economic slowdown. Several countries have imposed or are planning to impose Covid restrictions again.
Meanwhile, China dropped its quarantine requirements for inbound visits, further easing the three-year border controls aimed at curbing Covid-19.
In the US for the week, the Dow and S&P are slightly higher, with the Nasdaq on track for a modest loss. 2022 has been a painful year for stocks, with all the major averages on pace for their worst yearly performance since 2008 and poised to snap a three-year win streak.
Even European markets are on course for their worst year since 2018 as Russia’s war in Ukraine, high inflation, and tightening monetary policy hammered risk assets around the world. European natural gas prices fell this week to levels not seen since before Russia invaded Ukraine which is a piece of good news.
In Asia, U.S. health officials and the WHO have called on China to share more information on the spread of Covid in the country. The U.S. in particular is worried that a new Covid variant could emerge in China as the virus spreads widely and rapidly.