Markets had a good showing last week and continued their gains from the previous week. The Midcap and Smallcap segment outperformed the benchmark indices on expected lines. BSE SENSEX was up 607.62 points or 1.68 per cent to close at 36,671.43 points. NIFTY gained 171.90 points or 1.58 per cent to close at 11,035.40 points. BSE Midcap gained 2.08 per cent and BSE Smallcap was up 3.91 per cent. This positive movement in the smaller stocks has brought smiles on the faces of many investors after a very long time.

The gains in India were even though Dow Jones was down 576.08 points or 2.21 per cent at 25,450.24 points. The rupee gained 76 paisa or 1.07 per cent to close at Rs 70.15 to the dollar.

The election code would kick in immediately after the announcement of Lok Sabha election schedule and hopefully some of the name calling by politicians would reduce. In any case this election is going to be dirty and one should expect people not only accusing each other but then running to the Election Commission to file a complaint.

Markets are in a much better frame of mind and FPI’s have seen buyers in recent weeks. This has helped in bringing about stability and the crossing of key resistance levels of 36K and 36.5K on the SENSEX and 11K on the NIFTY. The important point here is the fact that these levels have sustained through the week. Further, the breadth of the market has increased significantly, and larger number of stocks have seen increase in volume and price rise. Stocks gaining 10 per cent and more during the week are significantly higher than in previous weeks.

The only sectoral indices which were down last week were the BSE IT and BSE TECK. This was on the back of the fall in prices of Wipro after the trust of Azim Premji sold shares worth Rs 700 crore. Other IT stocks like HCL Tech and Infosys were also weak while TCS gained ground. There is nothing negative about the IT space except the feeling that the major IT companies may guide for a muted growth when FY20 guidance is given for March 2019 results.

The CPSE ETF and ICICI Bharat-22 had very strong showing last week and registered strong gains as their underlying shares rallied. In the case of Bharat 22, ITC and Axis Bank also registered significant gains. These ETFs are likely to continue their momentum as more PSUs declare interim dividends.

Essar Steel has finally found a resolution and is sold to Arcelor. One needs to keep their fingers crossed and hope that no more cases are filed by the erstwhile owners of Essar Steel. The way this group has misused public funds would be an interesting case study in the IIM’s of this country. Jet Airways plan to manage its resources seems to be seeing the light of day with SBI, Etihad and Naresh Goyal seemingly hammering out a plan of sorts. One hopes that this is also resolved sooner than later as already 20 per cent of the airline’s aircraft have been grounded so far for non-payment to lessors of aircrafts.

Markets are likely to continue to gain ground in the coming week with a correction or two also there. The momentum is there, and people will closely follow the elections and the efforts of the ‘mahagathbandan’ as it announces its parties and candidates for the first phase of elections. Ride the momentum and use sharp rallies to book some profits and take money of the table.