The week that was in 10 stocks: Energy and sugar stocks rally; Yes Bank jumps 24%

New Delhi: Domestic equity markets ended the week with mild gains, thanks to a strong pull back on Friday. The merger of HDFC twins boosted the morale on Monday, but markets remained volatile mid week.

The hawkish commentary from the Fed, rising inflation, spike in bond yields and tension between Russia and Ukraine kept the bulls under control. However, BSE Sensex and Nifty50 gained up to half a per cent during the week.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said that the market was cautious during the last 2-3 days ahead of the RBI meet and its future policy stance. Measures being in-line with market expectations led to a relief rally.

BSE midcap and smallcap indices rallied 4 per cent each. On the sectoral front, energy and power indices emerged as the winners during the week, whereas IT remained under pressure.

“Momentum was seen in several broader market themes like defence, power, realty and tyre sector stocks. The Q4 FY22 earning season will kick off from next week and would be the key factor for market direction going forward,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal.

In the BSE 500 index, more than 400 stocks ended the week with gains while the rest recorded losses. As many as 55 stocks gained in double digits during the week.

Below are key stocks that were in the spotlight last week:

Energy stocks: Power and utility counters saw great demand during the week due to high demand from consumers. Swan Energy zoomed over 40 per cent to Rs 268.1 as the company raised Rs 318 crore via preferential allotment; Suzlon Energy advanced more than 26 per cent to Rs 11.92.

Sugar stocks: Sugar players were in a sweet spot during the week following the strong production expectations, ethanol blending push and better minimum support price. Shree Renuka Sugars rallied 37 per cent to Rs 49.75, whereas Uttam Sugar Mills and Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar surged 17 per cent each.

BLS International Services: The visa processing services player surged 34 per cent during the week to Rs 327.6 as the company board is slated to consider the proposal for issuance of bonus shares on April 13, Wednesday.

Onmobile Global: The telecom services player gained about 33 per cent to Rs 158 during the week as the marquee investor Mukul Mahavir Agarwal picked up 17,00,00 equity shares or 1.61 per cent stake in the company during March 2022 quarter.

Bharat Dynamics: The state-run defence player appreciated more than 25 per cent during the week to Rs 716.2 on expectations of increasing defence sector expenses by India following the global uncertainties and geopolitical worries.

Yes Bank: The private sector lender rallied as much as 24 per cent to Rs 15.66 during the week after it provided better operational performance and rating agency CARE upgraded the ratings for lenders' debt instruments.

Everest Industries: The cement player dropped almost 12 per cent to Rs 655.6 during the week amid the rising crude oil prices. The company board will meet and approve the results for the period ended March 2022 quarter on May 26.