Sensex ends flat last week; Metal, Realty, Oil & gas top loser

Indian markets settled last week on a tepid note due to absence of fresh triggers.Global markets were also not supportive and remainedsubdued.Higher-than-expected inflationresulted in lower hopesfrom the RBI to cut interest rate later in this month to boost the slowing economy.Corporate earningswere mixed and failed to give clear direction to the markets.

The 30-share index, Sensex gained 7.13 points, or 0.04% over previous week to 18,682.31. On the other hand, the broad based NSE Nifty moved up 8.20 points, or 0.14%, to 5,684.25. Meanwhile, BSE Midcap edged lower by 0.08%, while Small-cap up by 0.84%.

Sectoral indices at the BSE showed a mixed trend. Top losers were BSE Metal (2.53%), Realty (1.36%), Oil & gas (1.24%), Capital goods (0.96%), Power (0.88%), Healthcare (0.65%), PSU (0.6%), IT (0.5%).However BSE FMCG (2.65%), Consumer durables (1.93%), Bankex (0.81%) and Teck (0.08%). gained for the week.

''Investors will pay attention to any news that may emanate out of the two-day summit of European leaders in Brussels. Domestically, a lot would depend on RBI policy meeting which is scheduled to be held in the coming weeks. The ongoing results season would also continue to influence the mood on the street, said Amar Ambani, head of research, IIFL.Meanwhile, WPI inflation touched a 10-month high in September due to the diesel price hike. India's headline inflation, based on monthly WPI, rose 7.81% in September 2012 as compared to 7.55% for the previous month. FIIs have been net buyers of more than Rs 95 billion as per provisional data, in this month till now. Last two trading sessions have showed they were net sellers. Mutual Funds also have been positive in the month. These figures indicate a likelihood of recovery from lower levels in the coming sessions.For the coming week, M&M, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, LT, Bank Baroda, Kotak Bank, HUL, Dabur, ICICI Bank, NTPC, GAIL and IDFC are some of the major stocks which shall be announcing their Q2 results and some stock specific action may be seen. Also, because oftwo trading holidays, some profit-booking is also likely.On corporate frontMukesh Ambani led India's largest private sector company, Reliance Industries (RIL) reported on Monday a 5.73% y-o-y drop in net profit for the second quarter of financial year 2013 to Rs 53.76 billion. Earnings performance of the company was in line with market estimates of Rs 53.70 billion. Net sales was up 15% at Rs 903.35 billion for September quarter. HCL Technologies Q2 results were above estimates. IT services provider, reported a rise of 75.88% y-o-y in net profit to Rs 7 billion as compared to Rs 3.98 billion in the same period last year. Total income has increased by 35.01% from Rs 20.29 billion. ACC registered a surge of 51.9% in the consolidated net profit for the quarter ended Sep. 30, 2012 led by strong operating performance. During the quarter, the profit of the company increased to Rs 2.42 billion from Rs 1.59 billion.FMCG major, ITC reported better-than-expected growth of 21.27% in net profit for the quarter ended September, 2012 helped by healthy revenue growth and expansion in margins. Net profit rose to Rs 18.36 billion as compared to Rs 15.14 billion in the same period last year. Ambuja Cements(Q3) has registered a surge of 77.77% to Rs 3.04 billion from Rs 1.71 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. This was driven by higher sales realization and improved operational efficiencies. Net sales grew 20% to Rs 21.68 billion, while total income rose 19.65% to Rs 22.65 billion, when compared with prior year period. Axis Bank, India's third largest private sector bank, were in line with street estimates and eported a rise of 22.08% y-o-y in net profit to Rs 11.24 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012 as compared to Rs 9.20 billion. Total income increased by 27.18% to Rs 82.8 billion for the current quarter.