India’s Sensex gains as investors’ focus on demand revival

Bloomberg

India stocks rose, rebounding from two days of losses, as investors assessed the impact of the federal budget on demand while earnings season for companies enters its last leg.
The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.6%, the most in nearly a week, to 41,216.14 in Mumbai. It had risen as much as 1.1% on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also climbed 0.6%.
A widespread slump in consumer demand in an economy that is set to grow at the slowest pace in a decade has eroded companies’ sales. The federal budget has proposed changes in personal income tax that may help revive demand for goods and services.
Of the 44 companies Nifty companies that have announced results so far, 19 have either met or exceeded analyst estimates. Six companies are scheduled to report earnings by the end of this week.
“Investor focus has now shifted to the execution of the budget,” said Anita Gandhi, a Mumbai-based investment adviser at Arihant Capital Markets. “The budget has tried to push consumption and we need to see how it helps revive demand.”
All but two of 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd rose led by a gauge of utilities, the climbed to a near two-week high.
Reliance Industries Ltd contributed the most to the Sensex advance, increasing 1.2%, while NTPC Ltd had the largest gain, rising 3%.