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India's Sensex Completes Best Month Since July as Foreigners Buy

India’s stocks headed for their best month in four.

India's Sensex Completes Best Month Since July as Foreigners Buy
A man looks at a screen across the road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai.

(Bloomberg) -- India’s stocks completed their best month in four on signs that foreign buying is increasing as the local currency strengthened while the price of crude oil slipped into bear territory.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 5.1 percent in November, the steepest monthly gain since July. It climbed 0.1 percent to 36,194.30 in Mumbai on Friday. The NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 4.7 percent this month. Overseas investors bought net Indian shares worth $720.1 million through Nov. 28 after three months of selling, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Numbers

  • Ten of the 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. gained, led by the S&P BSE Realty Index and the S&P BSE Healthcare Index, which each climbed 2 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
  • Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. provided the biggest boosts to the main benchmark, while Yes Bank Ltd. and Wipro Ltd. were the top performers.
  • Dewan Housing Finance climbed as high 8.5%, while Can Fin Homes Ltd. as much as 4.7% after the central bank relaxed securitization rules for the non-bank finance sector.
  • The rupee has appreciated 5.9 percent this month. Crude oil, the country’s biggest import, has fallen over 21 percent.

Strategist View

  • “Rupee appreciation and the sharp fall in oil prices are substantially positive for the market as well as the economy. A falling rupee has further enhanced the prospects of stronger capital flows,” said Chokkalingam G, managing director at Equinomics Research & Advisory Pvt. in Mumbai.

Analyst Notes

  • Tech Mahindra Set for Turnaround in Revenue Growth: Prabhudas
  • Jubilant Life Shows Strong Growth, Attractive Valuation: I-Sec

To contact the reporter on this story: Nupur Acharya in Mumbai at nacharya7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie, Naoto Hosoda

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.