Indian stock-index futures fell before derivatives contracts expire today.
SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for June delivery dropped 0.1 percent to 7,572 at 9:44 a.m. in Singapore. The most-active July contract was little changed at 7,607. The underlying CNX Nifty Index fell 0.1 percent to 7,569.25 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) lost 0.2 percent. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares declined 0.4 percent.
Indian derivatives expire on the last Thursday of every month. The Sensex has surged 20 percent this year, the best performer among the world’s 10 biggest markets. Foreign investors have poured $ 9.85 billion into the nation’s stocks amid expectations a new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tackle Asia’s fastest consumer inflation and boost an economy growing at near the slowest pace in a decade.
“Investors were trimming their open positions ahead of the June expiry,” Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd., wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “As the rollovers are moderate, no major movements are expected.”
Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), India’s biggest energy explorer, may be active today. The government deferred yesterday a move to increase natural-gas prices by three months as it tries to balance the need to boost investments in exploration and stem inflation.
Reliance has advanced 17 percent and ONGC has surged 51 percent this year on expectations a Modi government would implement the price increase.
Overseas investors bought a net $ 6.2 million of Indian shares on June 24, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Sensex trades at 15.5 times projected 12-month profits, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s multiple of 10.9.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net Matthew Oakley, Phani Varahabhotla