MUMBAI: Indian stocks extended gains from a record close ahead of a key economic report later this week as foreign investors pumped their highest amount of funds into the market since March.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.5% to 41,081.76 as of 9.42am in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.4%, on course for its highest ever close. Foreign fund’s have invested net US$2.27 billion in Indian equities so far this month amid the prospect of more government stimulus to spur slowing economic growth.
A report Friday may show the nation’s economic expansion slowed in the third quarter, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey.“When the liquidity flow from foreign investors is there, it’s a tsunami and we need to enjoy it,” said A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd in Mumbai.Seventeen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd gained led by a gauge of metal companies.
ICICI Bank Ltd contributed the most to the index advance with a 1.5% jump; Tata Steel Ltd was the biggest gainer, rising 1.7%; Bharti Airtel Ltd was the biggest drag on the index and fell the most, slipping 1.7%.