Mumbai: Indian stocks advanced, closing their longest weekly winning streak in a decade.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.3% to 47,868.98 in Mumbai at the end of a ninth straight week of gains. The NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced by the same magnitude.
Indian equities returned about 16% last year, as investors bet the rollout of vaccines for Covid-19 will usher in a rapid recovery in the economic growth and boost corporate earnings. The mid-and small-cap indexes outperformed the benchmark for the first time after 2017.
“Corporate earnings post the dip are likely to stage a handsome growth trajectory,” analysts at ICICI Securities Ltd. in Mumbai said in a note. “For the calendar year 2021, we expect mid-caps and small-caps to gain relatively more than the large-caps.”
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. is set to open the quarterly earnings season with its results next Friday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond increased by one basis point to 5.88%, while the rupee weakened 0.1% to 73.1325 per dollar.
The Numbers
- Seventeen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by a gauge of telecom companies
- Twenty stocks on the Sensex index rose while nine fell
- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. gave the index its biggest boost and rose 2%, while ITC Ltd. was the biggest winner with a 2.3% jump; ICICI Bank Ltd. was the biggest loser and drag on the index, dropping 1.4%
Also read: India’s sizzling stock market rally seen continuing next year as banks, financials take lead