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With almost all the US economic data painting a rather dull picture, the US stocks slumped last week. Besides, forecasts from AT&T Inc and American Express Co and Tiffany & Co also bolstered speculation that the US economy is entering recession. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.8 per cent last week while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.5 per cent and the tech-focussed Nasdaq slumped 2.6 per cent.

On the other hand, the domestic markets displayed fatigue in its bull momentum. While the BSE Sensex gained 0.68 per cent, the NSE’s S&P CNX Nifty tumbled 1.18 per cent. The fall was even steeper in the case of BSE Mid-cap, BSE Small-Cap and Junior Nifty indices, capturing the broader weakness of the market.

Most Indian ADRs ended the week on a negative note. However, the star performers are ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. While the former jumped 17 per cent, the latter moved up by 10.7 per cent on the back of heavy buying.

Reports that ICICI Bank plans to list four of its subsidiaries acted as a trigger for the stock. Reports quoted Mr K.V. Kamath, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank as saying: “At current levels, we are undervalued… if you look at embedded value, clearly there is scope for valuation to look different… Value is visible in insurance and asset management companies, while there is value embedded in securities and home loan subsidiaries. Every company needs to consider unlocking of value at various points of time… At this point of time it would be appropriate to start considering opportunities to unlock (value in subsidiaries).”

Besides, enthusing quarterly results from Axis Bank also buoyed sentiment for the entire banking sector.

Despite good results from Infosys, the ADR slumped 4.68 per cent week-on-week. The software major posted 25.22 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,231 crore for the quarter ended December 31, compared to Rs 983 crore for the same quarter in 2006.

Total income of the group increased 19.25 per cent to Rs 4,429 crore (Rs 3,714 crore). The company expects its revenues to grow 20 per cent in fiscal 2008, the company said on Friday. Despite this announcement, the Infosys ADR on Friday slumped 6.3 per cent in the Nasdaq.

Satyam ADR slipped 2.16 per cent and Wipro by 2.39 per cent while the Patni Computers ADR gained 2.36 per cent last week.

The launch of the Rs 1-lakh car, Nano, failed to cheer market participants. Though on a week-on-week basis the Tata Motors ADR improved marginally by 0.83 per cent, post-launch, the ADR slipped by 1.8 per cent.

The biggest loser was MTNL. The ADR dwindled by 7.41 per cent.

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