Mixed Day for India Equities as Key Indexes Halt Seven-Day Rally
Indian Stocks Trade Mixed After Seven-Day Rally in Key Indexes
(Bloomberg) -- Indian equities closed mixed with traders cautious ahead of a public holiday and a U.S. interest rate decision. Key stock indexes had gained in the previous seven days to more than six-month highs.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex swung at least twelve times between losses and gains before ending the day up 0.1 percent at 38,386.75 in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index fell 0.1 percent to 11,521.05. The markets will be closed tomorrow for a holiday.
The ninth straight day of local-equity purchases by overseas investors through March 18 has boosted their inflow to $3.3 billion so far this month, the highest in two years. A looser-than-expected global monetary stance has revived investors’ interest for riskier emerging market assets while hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will get another five-year term in the national polls, that conclude in May, have boosted fund flows to India.
Strategist View
- “Reasonable valuations in select stocks and accommodative central banks are major tailwinds for Indian equities, while escalating crude oil prices and inconclusive trade talks between the U.S. and China remain key risks,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, senior vice president and head of research for wealth at Centrum Broking Pvt. in Mumbai.
- “Market direction from here will depend on institutional flows, political developments and earnings season set to start in April.”
The Numbers
- Eleven of the 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. retreated, led by a gauge of oil and gas stocks. The BSE Realty Index rose the most, gaining 2.2 percent.
- Nineteen of the 31 Sensex members and 34 of the 50 Nifty stocks declined. Both the Sensex and Nifty have been trading above their 14-day RSI of 70, a signal to some traders that a security is overbought, for seven days.
- Refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. was the top loser on Nifty, halting a three-day rally. Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. gained the most, rising 5 percent, cutting its decline this year to 13 percent.
- Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd. slumped 8 percent, the most in 13 months, after 2 percent of its equity crossed in a single block.
- Vodafone Idea Ltd. gained 3 percent after pricing its rights issue that will raise 250 billion rupees. The stock erased a decline of as much as 7.6 percent in the day.
Analyst Notes/Market-Related Stories
- Hindustan Zinc FY19 Mined Metal Output Seen 5% Lower: Edelweiss
- Foreigners Are Piling Into Indian Stocks Ahead of Polls: Chart
- Top Emerging Equities Fund Shuns China’s ‘Casino’ Stock Market
To contact the reporter on this story: Ameya Karve in Mumbai at akarve@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Ashutosh Joshi, Teo Chian Wei
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