India Stocks Advance on Prospect of More Government Stimulus
The government’s “full focus” now is to see how growth can rise in the next quarter, Finance Minister Sitharaman said Tuesday.
(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks rose as investors anticipated more government steps to revive consumer sentiment ahead of the festival season that accounts for a bulk of the nation’s sales.
The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.3% to 37,270.82 at the close in Mumbai, advancing for a third consecutive session. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also climbed 0.3%. The nation’s financial markets were closed for a holiday on Tuesday.
Waning consumption has deepened a slowdown in Asia’s third-largest economy, nudging the government to supplement the efforts of the Reserve Bank of India, which has cut policy rates four times this year in the region’s most aggressive monetary easing.
The government’s “full focus” now is to see how growth can rise in the next quarter, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday. The administration is also identifying infrastructure projects it can invest in, she added.
Strategist View
“If the government announces some more stimulus measures, it will help lift sentiment and clear the path for recovery,” said Sanjay Sinha, founder of Citrus Advisors. “There has been a lot more decline in prices than warranted as the weak sentiment is overpowering.”
The Numbers
- Fourteen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. gained, led by a gauge of real estate companies.
- Reliance Industries contributed the most to the index advance, increasing 1%. Yes Bank posted the largest gain, rising 14% on reports of a stake-sale discussion with Paytm.
- Tata Motors Ltd. climbed 10% as the carmaker’s Chinese retail sales jumped in August
- Allcargo Logistics also gained 10% as people with knowledge of the matter said Blackstone is in talks on investing in a warehouse venture
Analyst Notes/Market-Related Stories
- Watch This Stock for Signals of India’s Consumption Revival
- Yearlong Debt Crisis Blocks Plans for Bigger India Bond Market
- Millennials, Not Taxes, Get Blame for India’s Falling Auto Sales
- Infra Companies Buoyed By India’s Road-Building Promise
To contact the reporter on this story: Nupur Acharya in MUMBAI at nacharya7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie, Tom Lavell
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