Indian stock-index futures swung between gains and losses before financial markets open after benchmark indexes climbed to records in a ceremonial trading session on Nov. 3.

SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for November delivery fell 0.1 percent to 6,344.5 at 10:04 a.m. in Singapore after rising as much as 0.4 percent. The underlying CNX Nifty (NIFTY) Index added 0.2 percent to an all-time high of 6,317.35 in a 75-minute trading session on Nov. 3. The S&P BSE Sensex increased 0.2 percent to a record. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.- traded shares lost 0.1 percent yesterday.

Traders made ceremonial purchases of stocks in special trading to mark Diwali and the start of the Hindu new year. The session is held every year and is deemed the most auspicious time to start investments. Foreign investors were net buyers of Indian (SENSEX) stocks for a 20th straight day on Oct. 31, capping the largest monthly inflow since May, data from the market regulator show.

“We have lot of overseas fund inflows helping stocks to higher levels,” Rikesh Parikh, vice president of equities at Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd., said by phone from Mumbai.

International investors bought a net $ 290.2 million of stocks on Oct. 31, the biggest daily inflow since Sept. 19, taking the month’s purchases to $ 2.93 billion. Foreign funds have purchased $ 16.3 billion of Indian shares this year, the second-highest after Japan among 10 Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg.

Hero MotoCorp

The India HSBC-Markit services Purchasing Managers Index for October is scheduled to be released today. The index was at 44.6 in September, indicating a contraction.

Shares of Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL), India’s largest motorcycle maker, may move. The company reported on Nov. 1 that October sales rose 18 percent from a year earlier to 625,420 units.

The Sensex has advanced 9.3 percent this year, the biggest gain among the four largest emerging markets, and trades at 14.1 times projected 12-month profits, in line with its five-year average. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is valued at 10.5 times.

Net incomes at 16 of the 19 companies in the Sensex that have posted results so far exceeded analyst estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. About 47 percent of the 30 companies in the index missed forecasts in the previous quarter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Santanu Chakraborty in Mumbai at schakrabor11@bloomberg.net

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