Indian stock-index futures dropped after the benchmark gauges rose for a second straight week.
SGX CNX Nifty Index (NIFTY) futures for August delivery fell 0.2 percent to 7,913 as of 10:05 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. increased 0.3 percent to 7,913.20 on Aug. 22. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) advanced 0.2 percent to 26,419.55 for a weekly gain of 1.2 percent. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.- traded shares added 0.1 percent to 1,413.46.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1 percent today after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said slack remains in the labor market, though rates could be raised sooner than expected. India’s monsoon, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the nation’s annual rainfall, was 19 percent lower than the 50-year average since June 1, the Meteorological Department said on its website on Aug. 22.
“Expectations on interest-rate movements in the U.S. and fiscal reforms in India will continue to drive the markets in the medium to long term,” Dipen Shah, head of private client group research at Kotak Securities Ltd., said by e-mail. “In the short term, geopolitical issues and monsoons will be the triggers to track.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged in his Independence day speech on Aug. 15 to provide bank accounts and life insurance to millions of poor people while seeking to revive manufacturing in Asia’s third-largest economy. The announcements came after lawmakers blocked a bill proposing a higher foreign ownership cap in the insurance sector, raising concerns that Modi will struggle to pass laws.
International investors have poured $ 12.6 billion into local equities this year, the most in Asia, on expectations Modi will help spur an economy growing at near the slowest pace in a decade.
The Sensex trades at 15.5 times projected 12-month profits, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s multiple of 11.3. The Sensex has surged 25 percent this year and is the best performer among the world’s 10 biggest markets.
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, Allen Wan