BLBG:Sensex Index Swings Between Gains and Losses on Oil Gain, Greece Optimism
India’s benchmark stock index swung between gains and losses as a two-day gain in oil prices and a weakening growth outlook countered easing concern that Greece may default on its debt.
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), India’s most valuable company, rose 1.7 percent, reversing seven days of fall. Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT), the biggest truckmaker and owner of Jaguar Land Rover, added 1.3 percent. Oil & Natural Gas Corp., the largest state oil explorer, sank 3.1 percent. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL), the bigger carmaker, slid 1.3 percent.
“A wait-and-watch approach is the right prescription for the time being,” said Jignesh Shah, executive director at Sarasin-Alpen (India) Private Ltd., a unit of the Swiss wealth manager controlled by Rabobank Groep. “Overall, the market may remain range-bound in the near-term amid a mix of local and overseas headwinds.”
The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 18.20, or 0.1 percent, to 17,524.83 at 9:46 a.m. in Mumbai after swinging between gains and losses at least four times. The gauge slumped to a four-month low yesterday after a report the government sought to tax gains on investments routed through Mauritius sparked a selloff. The gauge has declined 15 percent in 2011, the worst performer in Asia. Sensex stocks are valued at 14.2 times estimated earnings, compared with 10.7 for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 0.1 percent to 5,260.90 and its June futures traded at 5,261.85. The BSE 200 Index was little changed at 2,178.41.
Reliance Industries, owner of the world’s largest refining complex, advanced 1.7 percent to 847.25 rupees. Yesterday, the stock fell to its lowest level since April 2009.
Worst Performer
Tata Motors increased 1.3 percent to 943.05 rupees and its June futures traded at 944.40 rupees. The stock has declined 28 percent this year after, the worst-performing auto company in the Sensex. The stock jumped 65 percent in 2010 and more than quadrupling in 2009.
Oil & Natural Gas slumped 3.1 percent to 248.2 rupees. Maruti Suzuki shed 1.3 percent to 1,145.5 rupees.
Crude advanced for a second day in New York as concern eased that Greece will default on its debt, raising speculation the government will raise fuel costs in India, the fourth- biggest buyer, even as the country’s central bank raises interest rates to battle accelerating inflation.
Slowing expansion in the South Asian economy “may be unavoidable in bringing inflation under control,” the Reserve Bank said June 16, when it raised the repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 7.50 percent. The bank has raised its lending rate 250 basis points since March 2010, the most among Asia’s 10 biggest economies, joining peers from China to South Korea in stepping up the fight against the surging cost of living.
Overseas investors sold a net 3.63 billion rupees ($80.8 million) of Indian stocks on June 17, taking total withdrawals this year to 11.7 billion rupees, according to data on the website of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net
