Indian stock-index futures declined after three days of gains for the benchmark equity gauges and as Asian shares retreated amid geopolitical concerns over Ukraine and the Middle East.
SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for July delivery fell 0.4 percent to 7,627.5 at 11:07 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. rose 0.2 percent to 7,640.45 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) gained less than 0.1 percent. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares tumbled 1.9 percent to 1,325.75, its steepest loss since April 15.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) lost 0.5 percent after Ukraine’s government claimed pro-Russian rebels shot down a Malaysian passenger jet over disputed territory, killing all 298 people on board. Israel sent soldiers and tanks into Gaza in an offensive aimed at stopping missile attacks. The Sensex trades near the highest valuation in three years after foreign investors poured $ 11.4 billion into local equities this year.
“Geopolitical concerns may impact commodity prices and will continue to weigh on investor sentiment,” Rajendra Wadher, director at PRB Securities Ltd., said in a phone interview today.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) may be active after India’s largest software services company reported group net income of 50.6 billion rupees in the quarter ended June, higher than the 48.9 billion rupees estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
Indian equities have received the largest foreign inflows this year among eight Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg, amid expectations Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will take measures to boost economic growth.
The Sensex is currently valued at 15.6 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s multiple of 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Santanu Chakraborty in Mumbai at schakrabor11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net Phani Varahabhotla, Chan Tien Hin