India’s Nifty Futures Drop After Sensex Rises to 4-Week High

Indian (SENSEX) stock-index futures declined after the jump in the benchmark gauge sent valuations to a two-week high.

SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for December delivery dropped 0.5 percent to 6,221.5 at 9:59 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty (NIFTY) Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. added 0.7 percent to 6,217.85 yesterday, its third day of gains. The S&P BSE Sensex increased 0.5 percent to 20,898.01. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares slid 0.8 percent to 1,103.78.

The Sensex gained for a third day to a four-week high yesterday after a report showed the economy in the last quarter grew more than economists predicted. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index slid 0.5 percent today as stronger U.S. manufacturing data fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will soon start tapering stimulus.

“There are fresh worries on tapering and valuations,” Kishor Ostwal, managing director at CNI Research Ltd., said by phone. “India is showing signs of a recovery, but at the same time, our markets are dependent on inflows and any tapering talk will impact it adversely.”

The nation’s current-account deficit narrowed to $ 5.2 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, the smallest shortfall since data going back to June 2010, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement after the market shut yesterday.

Overseas investors have purchased a net $ 17.45 billion of Indian equities this year, the most in Asia after Japan, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They bought a net $ 1.1 billion of stocks in November, the third monthly inflow, the data show.

The Sensex has risen 7.6 percent this year, the best performer among the four largest emerging markets, and trades at 13.6 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s 10.6 times.

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

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — Adrian Mowat, the Hong Kong-based chief Asia and emerging-market strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., talks about the region’s markets and his investment strategy. He speaks with Angie Lau and Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “Asia Edge.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — Michael Kurtz, Hong Kong-based chief global equity strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc., talks about Federal Reserve monetary policy and its implications for Asian stocks. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move.” (Source: Bloomberg)