(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks advanced, led by gains in Reliance Industries Ltd., after people familiar said billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s company has offered a $20 billion stake in its retail business to Amazon.com Inc.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.7% at the close, the most since Aug. 4. Shares in Reliance Industries soared 7.1% to close at a record high, contributing the most to the gauge’s advance. The NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 1.5%.
“We remain positive on Reliance Industries Ltd. and expect that the digital and the retail business will be the future growth drivers,” said Jyoti Roy, a strategist with Angel Broking Ltd. “Listing of the digital and retail business over the next few years would also lead to significant unlocking.”
An advance in some Asian markets following a rally in the U.S. overnight also helped boost sentiment.
Even as India contends with issues ranging from a shrinking economy to a border clash with China, stock investors have largely ignored the negatives. The Sensex has risen about 49% from a low in March, despite India experiencing its worst GDP slump on record in the June quarter, while it seems inevitable that the nation will at some point overtake the U.S. in terms of Covid-19 caseload.
“India has been moving with global swings for some time,” said Sameer Kalra, a strategist at Mumbai-based Target Investing. “Its own economic issues are in the backdrop as everyone is looking at the next fiscal year.”
The yield on India’s benchmark 10-year government bonds rose 6 basis points at 6.05%, while the rupee rose 0.1% to 73.46 per dollar.
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