Stocks Rally Loses Steam in India After Flirting With New Record

(Bloomberg) -- India’s benchmark stocks gauge rose for a third day on Monday to close on the verge of a record..Expectations that the central bank will this week announce its second interest-rate cut for 2019, and a national election that will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi reelected helped boost sentiment in a market that capped its best quarter since June 2018 on Friday. Profit-booking in some bank stocks in the final hour of trade kept the Sensex from closing at a new high, traders said..The S&P BSE Sensex Index added 0.5 percent to 38,871.87 after briefly topping its previous record set end of August, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 0.4 percent. The rally mirrored a surge in stocks worldwide after strong manufacturing data out of China helped ease investor worries about a slowdown in global growth..Foreigners have pumped more than $7 billion into India stocks so far this year -- among the highest in Asia -- on optimism that lower borrowing costs and a second term for Modi in the upcoming polls would support earnings growth in Asia’s third-biggest economy. The advance has put India on course to become first among markets valued at more than $1 trillion to hit a record high in 2019..Strategist View.Stocks have largely been driven by foreign flows betting on political stability and a revival in economic growth, said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, senior vice president and head of research for wealth at Centrum Broking Pvt. in Mumbai.“The main trend of the Nifty is still up,” said Sameer Kalra, president at Mumbai-based advisory Target Investing. “The RBI will most announce a 25 bps cut, which is factored in by the rally.” NOTE: The central bank will lower its key rate at an April 4 review, according to most economists in a Bloomberg survey. Indian stocks were upgraded to overweight on the outlook for corporate profits, BNP Paribas SA analysts wrote in a note on the weekend..The Numbers.12 of the 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by gauges of metals and software stocks. 17 of the 31 Sensex members and 26 of the 50 Nifty stocks advanced. Tata Motors Ltd. and Vedanta Ltd. were among the top gainers on the index..Analyst Notes/Market-Related Stories.Resurgent India Bulls Look to RBI to Keep Market Rally GoingBNP Upgrades India Stocks to Overweight, Cuts Korea on Earnings.©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Stocks Rally Loses Steam in India After Flirting With New Record

Bloomberg Quint