Singapore: India’s benchmark stock index is set for its best weekly gain since May, buoyed by investor optimism about companies’ outlooks amid a flurry of earnings reports.
The S&P BSE Sensex Index rose 0.2% to 38,134.77 as of 9:45 a.m. in Mumbai after swinging between gains and losses of the same magnitude. The measure has advanced for the past five days, its longest winning streak since March, and is set for weekly advance of 2.6%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index added 0.2% today.
The European Union and the U.K.’s agreement on a Brexit deal sent the Sensex to its best close in a week yesterday. Still, doubts whether the deal will be endorsed by lawmakers emerged overnight, deflating the euphoria.
At home, three of six Nifty companies that have reported results so far have missed analyst estimates for net income, while one has matched and two have beaten. Later today, investors will scan minutes of the Reserve Bank of India’s latest monetary policy committee meeting for commentary that might shed light on its next steps to spur economic growth.
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Strategist View
“Sentiment will be positive but there will be a consolidating phase,“ said Umesh Mehta, an analyst at Samco Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. “There was a positive ripple because Brexit was a good event but then we are going to see some amount of profit-booking on all those stocks.”
The Numbers
- 16 of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. declined, led by a gauge of power stocks.
- Infosys Ltd. was among the biggest drags on the Sensex index, while HDFC Bank Ltd., which reports earnings tomorrow, was among the biggest boosts