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Bloomberg
Most Indian equities advanced and key indexes eked out gains ahead of the federal budget due on Friday. Investors are counting on the government to provide stimulus for an economy growing at its slowest pace in several years.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex added 0.1 percent to 39,839.25 in Mumbai, after fluctuating between a gain of as much as 0.3 percent and a decline of 0.2 percent in the day. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also rose 0.1 percent.
India’s benchmark index has risen more than 10 percent since January, among the best performers in major Asian equity markets.
But the country this year lost its status as the world’s fastest growing economy to China, the unemployment rate is near a 45-year high and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-elected government is under pressure to announce a stimulus package.
“The market is priced reasonably, not very expensive from a one- to three-year view,†Rana Gupta, managing director of Indian equities at Manulife Asset Management Singapore Pte, said. Strong inflows from both local funds and foreigners are providing support, he said.
Key risks to local stocks include any global event
that derails capital flows
to emerging markets, a rebound in oil prices and
extended aftershocks from India’s credit crunch, Gupta said.
Twelve of the 19 sectors tracked in the benchmark, led by a gauge of property stocks.
Seventeen of the 31 Sensex members and 25 of the 50 Nifty stocks rallied. In the broader index of 500 top companies, 278 gained. The S&P BSE SmallCap Index climbed 0.3 percent, a third day of gain.
Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd jumped 7.6 percent, the steepest among Nifty members, after it bought back 27.1 billion rupees ($393 million) of debt. Eicher Motors Ltd dropped the most, falling 2.4 percent, after a two-day rally.