India stocks surge as border tensions ease

Bloomberg

Indian stocks climbed, taking the benchmark index to its highest level in more than three months, after a report
of a step back in a border dispute with China.
The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.9% to 35,238.03 as of 2:01 pm in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced by 1.1%. Both gauges are set for their biggest quarterly gains since 2009 and are trading at their highest levels since early March. India and Chinese militaries agreed to disengage from eastern Ladakh, the Press Trust of India reported, citing people it didn’t identify.
“The market has been inching higher, which means investors were anticipating the border tensions would cool off since nobody is in a position to accelerate this situation,” said Ajit Mishra, vice president of research at Religare Broking Ltd. in Mumbai. “People are more enthusiastic about reopening of the economy than focusing on coronavirus cases.”
A clash between China and India last week led to soldiers’ deaths on both sides. The South Asian nation has begun reopening from the world’s most strict lockdown even as new virus hotspots emerge in rural communities.
The rupee strengthened 0.5% to 75.65 versus the US dollar, while the yield on the most-traded 6.45% 2029 government bond rose 2 basis points to 6.03%.
Volatility may be heightened this week ahead of the expiry of futures contracts on Thursday.
Eighteen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. gained, led by a gauge of capital goods companies.
While Larsen & Toubro Ltd. rose 5.7% and gave the Sensex its biggest boost after saying it won large contracts, Reliance Industries Ltd. was the biggest drag and dropped the most.