Indian stock-index futures dropped before the release of monthly industrial production and inflation data today.
SGX CNX Nifty Index (NIFTY) futures for September delivery fell 0.2 percent to 8,104 as of 10:16 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. slipped 0.1 percent to 8,085.70 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) lost 0.2 percent to 26,995.87 for a third day of declines. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares dropped 0.6 percent to 1,432.89.
The Sensex capped its longest losing streak in a month yesterday after a record close on Sept. 8, when its 14-day relative strength index rose to a level considered to be overbought by some analysts. The economic data to be released today may be closely watched by markets after the Reserve Bank of India said it could ease monetary policy if inflation slows faster than anticipated.
“Some consolidation and profit booking is likely to continue, though any positive trigger can further strengthen the current rally,”Nidhi Saraswat, senior research analyst at Bonanza Portfolio Ltd., wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “Inflation and the index of industrial production data will impact near-term market trend.”
Consumer Inflation
India’s consumer-price inflation probably slowed to 7.8 percent in August from 7.96 percent the prior month, according to the median estimate of 35 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Industrial production grew 1.8 percent in July from a year earlier, compared with 3.4 percent in the previous month, according to a survey of 37 economists.
The Sensex has jumped 28 percent this year and is valued at 15.7 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s multiple of 11.2.
Foreign investors bought a net $ 35.6 million of Indian stocks on Sept. 10, taking this year’s inflow to $ 14 billion, the most among eight Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg.
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 Phani Varahabhotla, Chan Tien Hin