Nifty and Sensex rose over 2 percent this week amid expectations of the US-India trade deal.

Mumbai, October 18 (IANS). Indian equity markets closed the week higher amid short covering by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and strong domestic cues. Market optimism was boosted by clarity on India-US trade ties, with both sides agreeing to complete the first phase of the deal by November. Due to strong buying in major banking stocks, Nifty Bank hit a new high and the market remained enthusiastic. Investor confidence was boosted by the easing of asset quality concerns in the financial sector and expectations of better sales growth in the festive quarter. Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex rose 2.10 and 2.04 percent respectively during the week, with FMCG, pharma and auto indices leading the gains. Analysts said sectors such as real estate, healthcare and banking saw a broad-based recovery as well as consumption-based sectors. IT stocks remained under pressure due to concerns over global discretionary spending and increasing pressure on asset quality in the US banking system. Profit-booking was also seen in media and metal stocks, which limited the overall gains of the indices. However, the broader market breathed a sigh of relief after the strong rally, with Nifty Midcap 100 marginally down 0.57 percent and Nifty Smallcap 100 marginally down 0.05 percent, indicating selective profit-taking by investors. “On the weekly chart, Nifty formed a large bull candle with higher highs and higher lows, indicating the continuation of the uptrend. The index broke above the three-month symmetrical triangle consolidation pattern, indicating a positive trend,” analysts at Bajaj Broking Research said. He expects the index to move towards 25,900 and then 26,200 levels in the coming weeks. In this short holiday-filled Diwali week, investors can remain cautious in light of the release of key economic data such as US inflation, employment and India’s PMI data. Investors are also watching the ongoing earnings season and policy signals from major global central banks. –IANS SKT/