(Bloomberg) -- India stocks marked a fourth straight week of gains, the longest streak since July, as investors assess the pace of economic recovery.
The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.3% to 44,149.72 in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index fell 0.1%. Both indexes are trading close to record highs set Tuesday.
Surging inflows from foreign investors have helped drive Indian equities higher even with the economy probably in its first technical recession since at least 1996. While signs of a recovery are emerging, a report at 5:30 pm today will show gross domestic product contracted 8.2% in the quarter through September, according to economists’ estimates.
“Our view is that portfolio inflows and local equities will hold up as investors’ appetite for risk increases amid a global economic recovery,” Shilan Shah, an economist at Capital Economics (Asia) Pte Ltd. wrote in a note.
Net foreign equity purchases of $14.5 billion so far this year through Nov. 25 are already the most since 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The addition of 12 Indian stocks to MSCI Inc.’s global standard indexes in its quarterly review, effective from Nov. 30, may also help boost inflows.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond rose by four basis points to 5.91%, while the rupee weakened 0.2% to 74.0400 per U.S. dollar.
The Numbers
- Fourteen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by a gauge of real estate companies
- Eighteen Sensex shares fell while 12 rose
- Reliance Industries Ltd. was the biggest drag and slipped 1.2% while HDFC Bank Ltd. provided the biggest boost to the index and added 1%
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