Mumbai, Aug 18 : Indian benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex ended the week with gains after two consecutive weeks of losses. Last week, both Sensex and Nifty posted gains of 0.91 per cent and 0.71 per cent at 80,436.84 and 24,541.15, respectively.

The market rally was driven by several positive global and domestic factors like strong US economic data, easing inflation in India and stability in the Japanese yen.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers, offloading Rs 8,616 crore in the cash segment this week. Meanwhile, domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) maintained their buying momentum, acquiring Rs 10,560 crore in the cash segment.

Next week, the outlook for the market will be guided by the major domestic and global economic data such as HSBC India Services PMI (August), HSBC India Manufacturing PMI (August), FIIs buying and selling, US crude oil inventories, FOMC meeting minutes, S&P Global Services PMI (August), US existing home sales (July) and US new home sales data.

Santosh Meena, Head of Research of Swastika Investmart said, "On the technical charts, Nifty has finally broken out of the consolidation range between the 50-DMA and 20-DMA, closing above the 20-DMA".

"This breakout could lead to further bullish momentum, with the 24,800-25,000 zone serving as a key resistance area. On the downside, the 20-DMA around 24,477 will act as immediate support, while the 24,200-24,000 zone remains a critical support area," he added.

The global market sparkled due to better US retail sales data and the decline in weekly jobless claims, which helped to alleviate fears of a US recession. Further, the moderation in US CPI inflation and drop in the US 10-year yield helped the truncated week to close on a positive note.

"The IT index outperformed by about 5 per cent during the week in expectation of a loose monetary policy from the Fed," said a market expert.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equity worth Rs 32,684 crore (till August 17) through the stock exchange while investing Rs 11,483 crore through the primary market and other categories.

/IANS