Tracking Sensex: Top five losers, gainers this week

It was a tough week for Indian shares as the BSE Sensex fell nearly 3 per cent and the Nifty lost 3.3 per cent as U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s suggestion that stimulus measures may be scaled back at one of their next few meetings dented sentiment.

Weak factory output data from China also spooked global markets, with the Nikkei plummeting more than 7 per cent on Thursday.

Here are the top five Sensex gainers and losers for the week ending May 24: Commodity Trading tips

LOSERS

State Bank of India (SBI): India’s largest lender was the worst Sensex performer this week with losses of 11.3 per cent, taking a hit after posting its first quarterly net loss in two years on Thursday.

With Friday’s close of 2151.15 rupees, the stock has now lost 15.6 per cent from its 52-week high of 2550 rupees hit on January 10, 2013. According to Thomson Reuters data, 29 of 51 analysts covering the stock have a buy or equivalent rating on it, while 15 have a sell or equivalent rating.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T): Next among losers was L&T with losses of 10.23 per cent for the week ending May 24. The company’s quarterly results on Wednesday disappointed markets as it posted a 6.9 per cent fall in net profit for the March quarter, leading to a near 7 per cent drop in the stock that day. The stock ended the week at 1456.90 rupees Stock Market tips

However, Ambareesh Baliga of Edelweiss Financial Services was optimistic, saying they have a target price of 1870 rupees. Thomson Reuters data shows that 31 of the 48 analysts covering the stock have a buy or equivalent rating on the stock.

NTPC: Shares in India’s largest power utility ended the week with losses of nearly 6 per cent. The stock closed at 150.25 rupees on Friday, but is still up around 10 per cent from its 52-week low of 136.10 rupees hit on March 21 Nifty Trading Tips

Earlier in May, the company reported a near 69 per cent rise in March-quarter net profit. It was also among key stocks bought by FIIs during the March quarter, a BofA-ML research report said.

Jindal Steel: This stock was next on the loser’s list as it shed 5.58 per cent. The stock, which ended in negative territory in three of the last five sessions, has now lost 34 per cent so far this year.