India Stocks Gain as Investors Turn Focus to Business Resilience

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building stands in Mumbai, India, on Monday, July 6, 2020. The Sensex is headed for a four-month high, even as India overtook Russia to become the country with the third-largest caseload of coronavirus infections. Only the U.S. and Brazil now have more infections than India. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Nupur Acharya, Bloomberg News

Aug 10, 2020

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(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks rose as investors turned their focus toward business resilience despite a steady rise in new coronavirus infections.

The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.8% to 38,347.31 as of 10:06 a.m. in Mumbai, after rising 1.2% last week in what was its seventh weekly advance in eight. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also advanced 0.8% on Monday. Shares of companies that produce military goods rallied after India banned imports of more than 100 items used by its armed forces in a bid to boost local manufacturing.

“There is complete disengagement in how the market is moving and the reality,” said Ajit Mishra, vice president at Religare Broking Ltd. “We are now following the U.S. market, which despite the problems in the country, remains strong.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced four executive actions on Saturday, including a temporary payroll tax deferral for some workers and continued expanded unemployment benefits.

India is gradually allowing shops and establishments to restart business activity even as it battles the world’s third-highest number of coronavirus cases. The Asian economy is facing its first economic contraction in four decades.

The number of confirmed cases in India stands at 2.15 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The number of fatalities is 43,379, while 1.48 million have recovered.

Of the 34 Nifty 50-member companies that have announced results so far, 23 companies have beaten or matched estimates. Power Grid Corp., Titan Co. and Shree Cement Ltd. are expected to report earnings today.

The rupee was little changed at 74.9375 per U.S. dollar, while the yield on 10-year government bonds rose one basis point to 5.90%.

The Numbers

  • All but one of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by a gauge of healthcare stocks
  • Larsen & Toubro Ltd. contributed the most to the Sensex advance, increasing 4.9%, while Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. had the largest gain, rising 5.2%

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