Singapore: Indian stocks are poised for their longest winning run since November amid optimism that easing of the nationwide lockdown will reboot economic growth.
The S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 Index each rose 0.9% as of 12:11 p.m. in Mumbai. Both gauges are set for their fifth day of gains and longest winning streak since Nov. 4.
India’s phased easing of restrictions will see malls, restaurants and places of worship reopening from June 8 after the world’s toughest stay-at-home curbs muted economic growth.
“The gradual easing of the lockdown has boosted sentiment,” Ajit Mishra, vice president of research at Religare Broking Ltd. wrote in a note Monday. “The recent surge indicates markets are focusing more on the optimistic side and anticipating a favorable scenario.”
Still, Moody’s Investors Service on Monday lowered the country’s sovereign rating by a notch to the lowest investment grade, which may undermine the nation’s efforts to attract foreign capital into its debt market to fund a ballooning fiscal gap and avoid the first economic contraction in more than four decades.
India’s rupee was little changed versus the U.S. dollar, while the yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond rose one basis point to 5.78%
The Numbers
- Seventeen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by a measure of real estate stocks.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. was the top gainer on the Sensex after the lender’s billionaire founder Uday Kotak sought to raise as much as 69.4 billion rupees ($919 million) in a share sale by selling some of his stake.
- Shares in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and State Bank of India Ltd. declined. – Bloomberg
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