Indian shares are likely to remain choppy, tracking global financial markets, which have been sharply volatile in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Global markets recovered only towards the end of the week as the US government and the world's central banks took action to keep the global financial crisis from deepening.
For the week to September 19, the benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 0.29 percent, or 41.51 points, to 14,042.32, recovering nearly 12 percent from a week's low of 12,558.14.
Dealers said the global financial markets scenario still looked uncertain, despite the bounce-back after Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in New York. "The hope of a solution to the crisis, led by global central banks, was a positive. Global financial news events will be the key trigger next week," said Naresh Garg, chief investment officer at Sahara Mutual.
On Thursday, annual inflation appeared range-bound at 12.14 percent for the week ended September 6 from 12.10 percent a week earlier, according to the Wholesale Price Index, India's most-watched cost-of-living monitor. This level is however considerably higher than the central bank's target of seven percent by March-end 2009. "During the current calendar year we do not expect inflation to soften below double digits," said Siddhartha Sanyal, economist at brokerage Edelweiss Securities.