Indian stock-index futures climbed after benchmark indexes fell for the first day in six yesterday.
SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for March delivery rose 0.3 percent to 6,246 at 9:54 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index fell 0.9 percent to 6,221.45 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) lost 0.8 percent. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares slid 1.9 percent.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 Index (SPX) sank the most since Feb. 3, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index capped its first two-day loss in a month yesterday, as investors sold riskier assets on concern that Russia’s military presence in Ukraine may result in a larger conflict. International investors were net buyers of Indian stocks for an 11th straight day on Feb. 28. The Sensex has rallied almost 4 percent since falling to a four-month low on Feb. 13.
“Unless the Ukraine political crisis goes out of proportion and impacts oil prices, India should continue to build on the positive momentum.” Nilesh Karani, vice president at Magnum Equity Broking Ltd., said in a phone interview.
Brent crude, the benchmark oil price used in India, climbed to $ 111.20 a barrel yesterday, the highest level in more than two months. India, the world’s fifth largest oil consumer, imports almost 80 percent of its crude.
Overseas funds bought a net $ 97.9 million of Indian shares on Feb. 28, extending this year’s inflow to $ 407.2 million, the most in Asia after Indonesia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They purchased $ 20 billion last year.
The Sensex has retreated 1.1 percent this year and trades at 13.4 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the average multiple of 14.4 over the past five years. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is valued at 10.2 times.
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