India stocks fluctuate on eve of quarterly earnings reports

Bloomberg

India stocks swung as investors weighed the gradual resumption of business activity against a steady rise in new coronavirus cases, ahead of the quarterly earnings season starting on Thursday.
The S&P BSE Sensex was little changed at 36,714.87, at 10:05 am in Mumbai, as was the NSE Nifty 50 Index after both gained at least 0.4%. The measures have risen for the past five days and are just short of breaking through the 200-day moving average, a key technical barrier. A gauge of smaller company stocks has already breached the
indicator.
Signs of economic growth are re-emerging in India as business gradually reopens from a prolonged lockdown. Still, India’s coronavirus epidemic has become the third biggest in the world as infections surged after containment was eased.
“Investors would want to know the outlook for business going ahead, as most expect the earnings impact to last for at least two quarters,” said Chokkalingam G, head of investment advisory at Equinomics Research & Advisory Pvt. in Mumbai. “The current run of gains is also supported by the fact that there are very few avenues to earn returns now.”
Earnings for most companies suffered between April and June due to the lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Asia’s biggest software exporter, will announce results on Thursday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond fell to 5.77%. The rupee was little changed at 74.9487 per US dollar.
Ten of the 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. fell, led by a gauge of software exporters.
HDFC Bank Ltd. contributed the most to the Sensex advance, increasing 1.1%, while IndusInd Bank Ltd. had the largest gain,rising 4.8%.
Infosys Ltd. was the biggest drag on the index and had the biggest drop, declining 1.7%.