Indian stock-index futures gained after benchmark gauges advanced to records yesterday amid signs the country’s economy is improving.

SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for November delivery rose 0.1 percent to 8,462 at 9:20 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index (NIFTY) gained 0.5 percent to 8,430.75 yesterday, while the S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) also rose 0.5 percent. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares added 0.3 percent.

Indexes rose yesterday after the government reported the trade gap in October narrowed to $ 13.4 billion from $ 14.25 billion in September. The Sensex has rallied in the past four weeks amid optimism Prime Minister Narendra Modi will accelerate policy changes aimed at spurring growth.

“The pace of decisions has accelerated dramatically under this new administration and we are seeing reforms being put ahead,” Adrian Mowat, chief Asia and emerging-market equity strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in a Bloomberg Television TV India interview yesterday. “What will surprise people through 2015 is going to be the earnings numbers exceeding expectations.”

Profits at 67 percent of the 30 Sensex companies exceeded or matched analyst estimates in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with 46 percent in the three months ended June.

Earnings upgrades may begin by the end of the year as declining global commodity prices improve margins, Mahesh Nandurkar, an equity strategist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Mumbai, said on Bloomberg TV India yesterday. Company profits may increase at 18 percent to 19 percent in year starting April 1, from 13 percent to 14 percent this fiscal year, he said.

Global investors bought a net $ 109.6 million of local shares on Nov. 14, extending this year’s inflow to $ 15.3 billion, the most among eight Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg.

The Sensex has risen 33 percent this year, the best performer among the world’s 10 biggest markets, and is valued at 15.7 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s multiple of 10.9.

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net Matthew Oakley, Chan Tien Hin