(MENAFN- Gulf Times) India's stock benchmark eked out gains to rise for a ninth straight day, as investors shrugged off concerns about a halt in Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine study and rising domestic inflation.
The S & P BSE Sensex closed up 0.1%, after swinging between gains of 0.5% and losses of 0.3% following Johnson & Johnson's announcement that its study had been temporarily halted because a clinical trial participant experienced an unexplained illness. The NSE Nifty 50 Index added three points, also edging higher for a ninth day. It's the longest winning streak for both indexes since April 2018.
The two gauges are close to erasing year-to-date losses, supported by inflows of around $580mn into Indian equities from foreign investors this month. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was up 0.2% after falling by a similar magnitude earlier in the day.
Still, rising prices in Asia's third-largest economy weighed on sentiment at a time when consumer confidence has plummeted to a record low. Data published Monday showed consumer-price inflation accelerated to 7.34% last month, which was more than estimated and could prompt monetary policy makers to keep interest rates on hold for longer. This comes as the government has unveiled measures worth $6.6bn to stimulate consumer demand and investment in the economy.
Indian stocks are moving 'in line with other Asian markets, with the negatives of inflation and the GST stalemate also affecting sentiment, said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities Ltd. The meeting of India's goods and services tax council on Monday failed to arrive at a unanimous decision, as some states wanted the federal government to borrow from the market to bridge a shortfall in revenue from sluggish collections.
Meanwhile, Wipro Ltd reported net income for the September-ending quarter after market hours that missed analyst estimates.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond was little changed at 5.90%, while the rupee weakened 0.1% to 73.3550 per dollar.
Six of the 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd rose, led by a gauge of energy companies.
Reliance Industries Ltd added 2% and contributed the most to the Sensex's advance, while HDFC Bank Ltd was the biggest drag and dropped 1.3%.
Meanwhile the rupee depreciated 7 paise and settled at 73.35 (provisional) against the US dollar yesterday tracking muted domestic equities and strengthening American currency. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 73.41, pared some losses and finally closed at 73.35 against the greenback, down 7 paise over its previous close of 73.28.
During the session, the domestic unit touched an intra-day high of 73.32 and a low of 73.41 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.18% to 93.23.
Forex traders said investors are cautious following muted domestic macro-economic data.
Rising food prices pushed retail inflation to an eight-month high of 7.34% in September, above the RBI's comfort level, while industrial output continued to contract in August, official data showed on Monday.
The decline in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was 10.8% in July. The contraction in August stood at 8%, as per the latest data.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 615.17 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.
MENAFN1310202000670000ID1100953690
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.