India Stocks Advance on Credit Suisse Upgrade, Kashmir Action

(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks rose after Credit Suisse AG upgraded the nation to overweight amid an escalating U.S.-China trade war, while the government sought to cement its position by revoking seven decades of autonomy in the disputed Muslim-majority state of Kashmir.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.8%, its biggest increase in a month, to 36,976.85 at the close in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also climbed 0.8%, paring losses from Monday that had taken the decline to more than 10% from the gauge's all-time high close June 3, a retracement seen as a technical correction.

The U.S. slapped a currency-manipulator tag on China after it allowed the yuan to tumble to its weakest level in a decade against the dollar. This comes after Beijing asked state-owned companies to suspend imports of U.S. agricultural products.

Investors may be better off holding South Asia stocks as an escalation in the trade war may lower global interest rates, weaken the yuan and push up the U.S. dollar, Credit Suisse strategists Dan Fineman and Kin Nang Chik wrote in a note Monday.

READ: Credit Suisse Adds More Weight to South Asia in Stock Allocation

Further, the action on Kashmir consolidated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position as a strongman. The move to make Kashmir a “union territory” -- similar to India's capital New Delhi -- gives the government complete control over the state.

Strategist View

• “The Credit Suisse upgrade and an improvement in global indexes have helped sentiment,” said Sameer Kalra, founder of Mumbai-based advisory firm Target Investing. “The action on Kashmir by keeping tension from escalating has been a plus to the market.”
• “We don't see major upside to the market over the next 6-9 months given the weak outlook from companies. With stress in the financial system, there could be more pain that may come up on the surface in the next couple of months,” he said.

The Numbers

• Fifteen of 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by a measure of capital goods companies
• Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. contributed the most to the index advance, increasing 1.7%; Yes Bank had the largest gain, rising 5.2%
• Sensex is still down 1.1% in the past 5 days and has fallen 6.4% in the past 30 days

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To contact the reporter on this story: Nupur Acharya in Mumbai at nacharya7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie, Kurt Schussler

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