India Stocks Rise for a Second Day Amid Easing of Lockdown

(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks rose, clocking a second straight day of gains, as investors bought riskier assets amid a partial easing of the nationwide lockdown and signs of the coronavirus outbreak easing globally.

The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 1.5% to close at 31,863.08 in Mumbai -- a level last seen on March 13 -- while the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced by 1.4%. Both measures extended Wednesday rallies of more than 2%.

“Intra-day volatility is pretty high and that will continue to play over the next few weeks until we get clarity on how the exit from lockdown will work out,” said Amit Khurana, head of equity research at Dolat Capital Market Pvt. in Mumbai. “At this stage, everything is so uncertain.”

With the quarterly earnings season underway, four Nifty 50 companies have so far reported results, with few providing outlooks due to the uncertain trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic and extended shutdown. Bharti Infratel Ltd. is scheduled to announce results later today.

Indian companies sold a record amount of shorter-tenor bonds this month as the central bank floods the market with cheap cash. The nation’s market regulator has eased rules to fast-track rights issues to help companies raise funds amid the pandemic. India is heading toward its first full-year economic contraction in more than four decades, with a collapse in crude prices one of the few bright spots for the oil-importing nation.

The benchmark sovereign bond in India surged after the central bank said it would redeploy a debt operation akin to the Federal Reserve’s Operation Twist. The yield on the 10-year bond fell as much as 20 basis points to 6.01%, and the rupee strengthened 0.8% to 76.0713 per U.S. dollar.

The Numbers

• Thirteen of the 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. climbed, led by a gauge of IT companies
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. led gains with a 8.6% advance, after the bank on Wednesday said it plans to raise about $1 billion with a new share issue
• Titan Co. dropped the most among Sensex companies, losing 4.1%

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