India's NSE Nifty 50 is the sole gainer among equity benchmarks in Asia's five biggest markets so far this quarter, up nearly 6%. Bloomberg's Samie Modak reports from Mumbai that the index rose for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, its longest winning streak since June. Investors are returning to Indian stocks as the Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections stirs global market assessments, improving earnings, falling oil prices and tax cut hopes draw foreign money back.
Global funds have poured more than $3 billion into Indian stocks on a net basis since mid-October. Over the same period, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index has lost more than 7%. Brent crude fell more than 8% in the previous session as investors bet a Democratic sweep could accelerate efforts to end the war in the Middle East. US Vice President JD Vance said voter frustration over the war in Iran and the US-Israel relationship doomed Republicans in the elections.
Earnings are also providing support. Profits at roughly two-thirds of BSE 100 companies that have reported rose 20% from a year earlier in the September quarter, according to Citigroup, the fastest growth in at least five quarters. Consumer staples, steel and financials saw earnings upgrades. Results from Bharti Airtel, LIC, Mahindra & Mahindra, ONGC and Titan are due today and may test whether the rally has staying power.
Elsewhere, a weaker dollar lifted precious metals, with gold rising as much as 3% above $4,000 an ounce and silver surging nearly 5% past $52. Indian gold ETFs gained more than 3%. Meanwhile, weak monsoon rains are expected to leave India's coffee harvest below estimates, a concern for exporters and for producers such as CCL Products and Tata Consumer.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing