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Indian equity benchmarks top Asian gainers, erase weekly losses
Indian equity benchmarks top Asian gainers, erase weekly losses
About this update from Eternal Limited
By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran India's equity benchmarks rose on Friday to beat major Asian peers as easing U.S. Treasury yields lifted global investor sentiment. The NSE Nifty 50 NSE:NIFTY rose 0.99% to 24,853.15, while the BSE Sensex BSE:SENSEX gained 0.95% to 81,721.08, paring weekly losses. The Indian rupee posted its largest single-day gain in more than two years while the benchmark 10-year bond yield declined ahead of the central bank's surplus transfer to the government."Indian markets are likely moving ahead of fundamentals and reacting pre-emptively to the expected domestic rate cut on June 6," said Vikas Gupta, CEO and chief investment strategist at OmniScience Capital. The Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut the policy rate for the third consecutive time on June 6 to support economic growth. Long-dated U.S. bond yields eased on Friday, with those on the 10-year note off 3.8 basis points to 4.51%. U.S. bond yields spiked earlier this week on concerns over a tax-cut bill that is expected to add $3.8 trillion to federal debt. The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed the sweeping tax and spending bill, which now heads to the Senate for approval.Foreign investors sold Indian shares in three of the last four sessions.The Nifty and Sensex ended the week down about 0.7% each, after a 4% rally in the prior week.For the week, nine of the 13 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps NSE:CNXSMALLCAP rose 0.5% while mid-caps NSE:CNXMIDCAP shed 0.7%. Bharat Electronics NSE:BEL rose 5.5%, its seventh weekly gain, helped by upbeat analyst commentary and ahead of its addition to the Sensex.On the day, consumer stocks NSE:CNXFMCG added 1.6%, aided by ITC NSE:ITC after strong March-quarter earnings. The IT index NSE:CNXIT, which lost 1.3% in the previous session, rose 1%.Pharma shares NSE:CNXPHARMA lost 0.4%, dragged by Sun Pharmaceutical NSE:SUNPHARMA on concerns over its weak revenue guidance for the fiscal year.