The equity market recorded its seventh straight weekly gain on Friday, adding 0.38% over the previous week. Foreign institutional investors (FII) continued their shopping spree for the 19th consecutive session since the Budget on February 26. The BSE Sensex is just 145.57 points shy of its 52-week high of 17790.33 it hit on January 6, 2010.

?The FII interest continues, especially in sectors like pharma and auto. Going forward, the main trigger will be the quarterly results,? said Ajay Parmar, head ? institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services. According to BSE?s provisional estimates, on Friday, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 590.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 49.41 crore. In the 17 trading sessions since the budget, FIIs have bought shares worth Rs 16,975 crore.

The BSE Sensex rose 85.91 points or 0.49% to close at 17,644.76 while the broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained 21.6 points higher or 0.41% at 5282.

The performance of the domestic market was largely in line with those of other Asian indices, which rose on easing concerns over Greece?s debt crisis. The key benchmark equity indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea all gained. The Nikkei 225, Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Composite gained more than a percentage point, adding 1.55%, 1.32% and 1.34%, respectively.

Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 18 ended higher while 12 closed in the red. In the broader market, laggards outnumbered winners on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with 56.18% or 1,651 stocks declining compared with 1,200 which ended higher.

Of the BSE 500, 28 companies hit their 52-week high.

?We are somewhere at the top of the market and I don?t see much upside from here on. There has to be some profit booking,? said Rahul Jain, VP, head ? India sales, Prabhudas Lilladher.

The NSE cash turnover on Friday was at Rs 13,546 crore, while the six monthly daily average stood at Rs 15,385 crore. Turnover in derivatives was Rs 57,814 crore and the daily average for the past six months is Rs 77,017 crore.

India VIX, a volatility index based on the S&P CNX Nifty index option prices, jumped 4.93% to 17.89. VIX is a measure of the market’s expectation of volatility over the near term and in general increases when the market is bearish and decreases when the market is bullish.

Bharti airtel SCRIP slides, closes at Rs 310

Bharti Airtel scrip slid 3.6 points, or 1.15%, to close at Rs 310.15. The scrip fell sharply in the first hour of trading to below Rs 306, but then rose steadily before finally settling at the Rs 310 level. According to Ajay Parmar, head – institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services, the market has not been totally taken in by surprise by the Bharti-Zain deal. ?The share price has been correcting for about a month now since the deal first came to light. So the price dip was not substantial as the market had already accounted for the deal,? he said.