Indian (SENSEX) stock-index futures were little changed after official reports showed the nation’s industrial output contracted unexpectedly in May and inflation accelerated in June.
SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for July delivery fell less than 0.1 percent to 6,017 at 9:15 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty (NIFTY) Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. rose 1.3 percent to 6,009 on July 12. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 1.4 percent to 19,958.47. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares rose 1.7 percent.
Production (INPIINDY) at factories, utilities and mines declined 1.6 percent from a year earlier after a revised 1.9 percent climb in April, the statistics office said July 12. The median of 31 estimates in a Bloomberg survey was for a 1.4 percent gain. Another report showed consumer-price inflation accelerated to 9.87 percent. The Sensex climbed 2.4 percent last week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanreade said the U.S. economy will continue to need stimulus.
“The factory production number shows how deep the slowdown is,” Kishor Ostwal, managing director at CNI Research Ltd., said by phone. “At the same time, inflation is not coming down, which will deter the central bank from cutting interest rates. Global liquidity concerns have eased a bit and that can support any rally from here.”
The rupee’s plunge to a record low against the dollar this year threatens to stoke inflation and prompted the Reserve Bank of India to leave borrowing costs unchanged last month, snapping a run of three reductions. The government has eased foreign-investment limits in industries such as aviation and retail, seeking to steady the currency and spark an economic revival.
Price Data
Wholesale-price inflation probably accelerated to 4.94 percent in June from 4.7 percent in May, according to the median estimate in another Bloomberg survey. The report is due today.
Software-makers led gains in Indian shares on July 12 after Infosys Ltd.’s earnings rose and its sales forecast in dollar terms beat analyst estimates.
The Sensex has gained 2.7 percent this year and trades at 13.4 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s 9.9 times.
Global investors sold $ 220 million of local shares on July 11, paring this year’s inflows to $ 13.3 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. International funds sold $ 1.8 billion in June, which was the most since August 2011, 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