Indian Markets: Radical End to a Dramatic Week

The arrest of Mr. Ramalinga Raju on Friday night marked the end of a distressing week for Indian stock markets. The Satyam (SAY) scandal wore heavy on the markets during the latter part of the holiday-shortened week. Not only India, but most equity markets around the world had their fair share of negative news to keep them void of any gains.

As we enter the earnings season, most seem to be apprehensive that actual numbers and forecasts are likely to be even worse than expected. In terms of India, the obscenity of the fraud at Satyam rocked investor confidence, and became a big drag on the markets’ performance this week. India was the biggest loser among key Asian markets, falling almost 5.5%.

This was followed by Hong Kong where some large companies forecast losses and missed quarterly targets. Korea was the lone gainer in Asia, led by the country’s central bank cutting interest rates to a record low, saying the economy is deteriorating ‘rapidly’. Stocks in the US declined the most (4.8%) amongst world markets on the back of an increase in the unemployment rate to a nearly 16-year high.

A report that showed that 524,000 jobs were lost in the US in December 2008 along with other bleak economic data, took its toll on oil prices during the week. Oil dropped about 11% with the widespread anticipation of a deepening recession consequently leading to a further fall in demand for crude. The negative sentiment was strong enough to shadow signs that OPEC is fulfilling supply cuts announced last month, as also the ongoing Middle East political tension.

Gold and silver thrived on speculation that the dollar will slide as the recession deepens, boosting the appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment. A spike in inflation seems to be at the top of every one’s mind, as much of the US government’s heavy expenditures will have to be funded with newly printed dollars.

Source: Yahoo Finance	Source: Yahoo Finance

Source: SEBI	Source: BSE