Sensex gains 0.9% during the week

Fri, 5 Oct Closing

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Indices in the equity market of India made no significant attempt to claw back into the positive territory and as a consequence, closed the day comfortably in the red. While the BSE-Sensex edged lower by around 120 points, NSE-Nifty was down around 40 points (down 0.7%). BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices suffered greater decline as they closed lower by around 0.8%. Nearly three stocks on the Sensex closed in the red for every two that gained.

Most Asian indices closed the day in the positive. Europe too is trading in the green currently. The rupee was trading at Rs 51.8 to the dollar at the time of writing.

With today's fall, the gains during the week have been restricted to just a little under 1%. However, with both global as well as domestic cues remaining strong, there could be more gains to follow in the coming weeks. A long term investor however should be indifferent we believe. His focus should always be fundamentally strong companies that are trading at attractive valuations. If he fails to find these attributes in the current environment, then he will certainly be better off not investing and instead should wait for the right opportunity. Whether the Sensex reaches 20k or 23k should not really matter to him.

Bajaj Corp, market leader in the light hair oil market in India has put up a good show for the quarter ended September 2012. As per reports, the company's bottomline grew by a strong 34% YoY on the back of a 27% jump in total revenues. This strong performance comes on the back of 32% growth in bottomline during the quarter ended June 2012. The company spent 14% more on raw materials than it did during same quarter last year while total expenses were up 23%. Its advertising spend also witnessed a strong jump, up some 40% YoY. The stock closed marginally higher on the bourses today.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), India's leading engineering and construction company also closed marginally higher today. As per reports, L&T construction, the wholly owned subsidiary of the company has bagged orders worth Rs 14 bn during September 2012. The orders have been placed by leading developers for the design and construction of major residential building projects in the National Capital Region, Delhi. The company has been offering pioneering solutions in the construction of residential buildings that also covers design as well as construction of large townships and high-rise apartments.