Indian stock-index futures gained after the World Bank raised its global growth forecast as investors awaited the release of wholesale-price inflation data.

SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for January delivery rose 0.3 percent to 6,276.5 at 9:40 a.m. in Singapore. Coal India (COAL) Ltd. may advance after saying it’ll pay a record dividend. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.4 percent in Hong Kong. The World Bank sees the world economy expanding 3.2 percent this year, compared with a June projection of 3 percent and up from 2.4 percent in 2013.

The wholesale inflation rate slowed to 6.99 percent last month from November’s 7.52 percent, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Consumer prices climbed 9.87 percent in December, compared with a 11.16 percent rise in November, official data showed Jan. 13.

“Indian (SENSEX) markets are likely to open in line with global cues,” Kishor Ostwal, managing director at CNI Research Ltd., said in a phone interview yesterday. “The inflation numbers will be closely watched as that will give investors a handle on the central bank policy meeting later this month.”

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan last month surprised economists by holding the benchmark rate at 7.75 percent instead of adding to increases totaling 50 basis points since taking office in September. The authority meets for its next policy review on Jan. 28.

The underlying CNX Nifty (NIFTY) Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. lost 0.5 percent to 6,241.85 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.5 percent to 21,032.88. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares rose 0.7 percent to 1,184.29.

Coal India, the world’s largest producer of the fuel, will pay 183 billion rupees ($ 3 billion) in dividend to help the government cut its budget deficit, the state-owned company said in a stock exchange statement yesterday.

Global investors bought a net $ 16.2 million of local shares on Jan. 10, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They invested $ 20 billion last year, the most in Asia after Japan, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net purchases in 2012 were $ 24.6 billion, the data show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net