(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks fell on Friday after swinging between losses and gains, trimming the benchmark index's best two-month advance since 2009.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.3% to 37,606.9 in Mumbai after rising as much as 0.4% and dipping as much as 0.8%. The gauge rose 16% since the end of May. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also slipped 0.3%. Both measures have added about 8% this month, triggering technical indicators that some investors read as a signal to sell.
Investors looking beyond the worst economic outlook in more than 40 years and the third-highest coronavirus case count globally have driven the Sensex to its best two-month performance since polls that led to the Manmohan Singh government's re-election to office in May 2009.
“Many first-time investors moving savings into stocks helped move the market up, together with international flows over the last two months,” said Umesh Mehta, head of research at Samco Securities in Mumbai. “We see August as a bad month, where the excess froth of the last couple months could be corrected.”
Of the 29 firms that announced results so far, 19 exceeded or matched estimates. While Reliance Industries Ltd. posted results that beat estimates, profit before tax dropped 6% after stripping out a one-time gain. The shares fell 2%. Tata Motors Ltd. is due to report quarterly results later Friday.
The Numbers
- Thirteen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by a gauge of healthcare companies
- Ten Sensex shares fell while 20 rose
- Reliance Industries Ltd.'s 2% fall was the biggest drag on the index, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. advanced the most and contributed most to the index gain, with a Technologies Ltd.'s 4.3% gain.
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