Indian stock-index futures tumbled as losses in global equity markets countered improving corporate earnings.
SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for January delivery fell 0.7 percent to 6,319 at 9:17 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index rose 0.1 percent to 6,345.65 yesterday, a fourth day of gains. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) increased 0.2 percent to a record. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares lost 1.5 percent, the most since Jan. 2.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped, following declines in Europe and the U.S., heading for its longest run of weekly losses in 18 months. The Sensex climbed to an all-time high for a second day yesterday as more company profits beat estimates.
“We expect the markets to take a breather given it has risen for four days and is at a record,” Kishor Ostwal, managing director at CNI Research Ltd., said yesterday.
All eight Sensex companies that have reported earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 so far have beaten or matched analyst forecasts.
International investors bought a net $ 46.6 million of domestic shares on Jan. 22, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, taking this year’s inflow to $ 443 million. They invested $ 20 billion last year, the most in Asia after Japan, and $ 24.6 billion in 2012, the data show.
The Sensex has risen 1 percent this year. It climbed 9 percent in 2013, the best annual gain among the four-largest emerging markets, and trades at 13.3 times projected 12-month earnings. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index trades at 9.2 times.
Shares of Cairn India Ltd. (CAIR), operator of the nation’s biggest onshore oil deposit, may be active. The company reported quarterly profit fell 14 percent from a year earlier to 28.8 billion rupees ($ 465 million), compared with the 30.4 billion rupee median estimate of 29 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
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