Indian (SENSEX) stock-index futures dropped after benchmark indexes snapped a five-day loss yesterday.
SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for January delivery fell 0.2 percent to 6,184 at 9:58 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty (NIFTY) Index rose 0.2 percent to 6,174.60 yesterday, its first advance in 2014. The S&P BSE Sensex also gained 0.2 percent. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares lost 0.1 percent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined for a fifth time in six days today after U.S. Federal Reserve minutes showed officials see the benefits of economic stimulus diminishing. Infosys Ltd. (INFO) reports earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 tomorrow, while the government will release industrial production data for November.
“Indian markets are likely to open in line with global cues,” Kishor Ostwal, managing director at CNI Research Ltd., said in a phone interview yesterday. “Infosys results will give a definite direction.”
Fed officials judged that the “efficacy” of their record bond-buying program was waning, according to a record of last month’s meeting released yesterday. Private jobs data added to signs the U.S. economy can withstand cuts to stimulus.
Infosys may report profit of 27 billion rupees ($ 435 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, according to the median estimate of 31 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. That compares with 23.7 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier.
Shares of Tata Steel Ltd. (TATA), India’s biggest producer, may be active after it got a two-year contract to supply more than 200,000 metric tons of track to French rail operator SNCF, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
International investors were net sellers of $ 85.7 million of Indian stocks on Jan. 7, a third day of outflows, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They invested $ 20 billion last year, the most in Asia after Japan, and $ 24.6 billion in 2012.
The Sensex is trading at 13.1 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the five-year average of 14.4 times. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is valued at 10.2 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
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