Indian stock-index futures were little changed before the contracts expire tomorrow.
SGX CNX Nifty Index (NIFTY) futures for September delivery fell less than 0.1 percent to 8,032 as of 10:08 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. sank 1.6 percent to 8,017.55 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) tumbled 1.6 percent, the most in seven weeks. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares dropped 0.7 percent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) fell 0.2 percent, heading for its lowest close in more than three months, after a selloff in U.S. equities. The Sensex’s drop yesterday came amid concern that a recent rally may have outpaced the outlook for profits. The gauge, which has risen 26 percent this year, is valued at 15.4 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s multiple of 10.9.
“We expect market to remain highly volatile ahead of the futures and options expiry,” Amar Ambani, head of research at IIFL Ltd., wrote in an e-mail yesterday.
The India VIX index, a gauge of protection against stock-market losses using options, rose 7.3 percent yesterday, the biggest increase since Aug. 1. Shares of India’s medium-sized companies are the most expensive in eight years relative to larger counterparts, a sign that the rally has gone too far, according to Equinomics Research & Advisory Pvt.
Coal shares may be active before a Supreme Court panel gives its verdict on coal mine permits today. The court had last month ruled that 218 coal blocks allocated between July 1993 to 2012 were illegal.
International investors bought a net $ 18.5 million of Indian stocks on Sept. 19, taking this year’s inflows to $ 14.2 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