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Bloomberg
India’s benchmark equity index is on course for a record close after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner in the US election, ending uncertainty of a prolonged process in deciding a victor.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex index climbed 1.5% to 42,512.19 as of 10:12 am in Mumbai, set to finish higher than the previous record in January. The NSE Nifty 50 index rises 1.4%, also poised for an all-time high. Both gauges on Friday capped their best week since June.
India’s equity gains, which track a surge in stocks across Asia Pacific, come amid signs of a domestic economic recovery after one of the world’s strictest lockdowns and the worst quarterly contraction among major economies. A measure of volatility fell for four straight days through Friday after touching a three-month high on November 3.
Biden passed the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes needed to capture the presidency and media networks at the weekend declared him victorious. President Donald Trump is weighing legal challenges and has so far refused to concede.
Indian equities could continue to rally “on account of more clarity on US election
results,†said Abhimanyu
Sofat, head of research at IIFL Securities Ltd.
Locally, investors will now turn their focus to voting in the eastern state of Bihar, where exit polls show Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party falling short of a majority.
“Due to the duration of the regime, even a negative verdict may not be taken as a big setback†to Modi’s government, Sofat said.
Ballots will be counted on Tuesday in the first test of Modi’s popularity since the pandemic swept the nation of 1.3 billion, which now has the world’s second-largest infection tally with 8.51 million coronavirus cases.
As earnings continue, 27 of the 39 Nifty 50-member companies that have announced results so far have beaten or matched estimates.
The rupee strengthened 0.4% per US dollar, while the yield on the 10-year government bond increased by two basis points. All 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. rise, led by a gauge of software exporters that climbed 2%.
All 30 shares of the Sensex were in the green with ICICI Bank Ltd. contributing the most to the gain and the largest move, increasing 3.4%.