These BSE500 stocks posted stellar gains last week, check them out

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As many as 57% of stocks in the BSE 500 index managed to deliver positive returns to investors despite disappointing last week. With a rally of 26%, Happiest Minds Technologies emerged as the top gainer in the index. It was followed by Route Mobile (up 23%) and Indoco Remedies (up 21%).

Overall, the benchmark equity index BSE Sensex declined 440.37 points, or 0.83%, to 52,484.67 for the week ended July 2. Likewise, the 50-share Nifty index declined 138.15 points, or 0.87%, to 15,722.20.

JB Chemicals, Tata Elxsi, PNC Infratech, eClerx Services, Uflex, Sudarshan Chemical, Jindal Saw, Suzlon Energy, Sterling and Wilson and Central Bank of India also gained between 13%-18%.

Factors that dragged the market

Markets started the week on a pessimistic note as India Ratings and Research said its earlier estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 10.1% for the current financial year is unlikely to hold due to the speed and scale of Covid 2.0. It now expects GDP growth to come in at 9.6% in FY22. Some concern also came with S&P Global Ratings stating the Covid pandemic could worsen structural deficits and indebtedness of states, despite a likely rebound in the economy over the next 12-24 months.

Markets extended losses with a domestic rating agency ICRA stating that nearly a third of loans by NBFCs are in risky segments, and the already elevated non-performing assets ratio for such lenders are expected to rise by up to 1% in FY22 due to the impact of the second Covid-19 wave.

Traders remained anxious with the RBI’s data showing that credit growth to the industrial sector remained in the negative territory during 2020-21, mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns. Sentients further dented on the report that Indian manufacturing activity fell back into decline in the month of June. However, markets pared some of their losses on the final day of the week as traders took support with the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that a special session of the GST Council will be held soon to discuss all compensation-related issues.

Other gainers and losers

Firstsource Solutions, Carborundum Universal, HFCL, Persistent Systems, Tasty Bite Eatables, CCL Products, ICICI Securities, Lakshmi Machine Works, Indian Overseas Bank, KSB and Zensar stood among other players which gained more than 10% last week. On the other hand, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, Vodafone Idea and Adani Green Energy declined 23%, 20%, 17% and 13%, respectively.

Factors to watch

Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said the domestic market will continue to track cues from the global markets in order to gain direction in movement. Reducing Covid cases and progress in vaccination domestically will continue to pump optimism in the market. Services and Composite PMI data are the two major economic data awaiting release next week.