India’s stock indices feel the vibe
They have rebounded by more than 20% since March lows as end of lockdown nears
Mumbai: India stocks rose, heading for their first monthly gain this year, with the world’s biggest lockdown scheduled to end on Sunday.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 2.8 per cent to 33,605.99, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index added 2.7 per cent. Both gauges have rebounded by more than 20 per cent from March lows, and each is set for their best monthly performance since 2009. (Markets are shut on Friday for a holiday.)
Reliance Industries Ltd., the nation’s biggest company by market value, and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. are due to report quarterly earnings, while Reliance will also announce plans on its rights’ offer as the energy-to-technology conglomerate steps up efforts to pare debt. Seven of the Nifty 50 companies have posted earnings so far for the January to March period.
“The sentiment is positive now as the government has been talking about a stimulus focusing on mid and small-sized companies.” said Abhimanyu Sofat, head of research at IIFL Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. “If you do find there is significant improvement in people’s ability to go back to offices, it will be a big positive because the curve of coronavirus cases isn’t going up.”