Indian Stocks Rise With Asian Equities on U.S. Election Optimism

(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks rebounded from their worst week in a month as global equities climbed after Hillary Clinton's prospects in the U.S. presidential elections improved.

The S&P BSE Healthcare index, which plunged 8 percent last week, climbed 1.8 percent as Lupin Ltd. jumped. ITC Ltd., the largest tobacco company, paced a rally among consumer companies, while State Bank of India added 2.9 percent.

Asian stocks rose after the Federal Bureau of Investigation reaffirmed its view that Clinton's handling of her e-mails as secretary of state wasn't a crime. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index had fallen for the past two weeks and the S&P 500 Index had posted the longest run of daily declines since 1980 as Clinton's lead over Donald Trump narrowed in most polls after the FBI reopened a probe into an unauthorized e-mail server.

“Investors who had gone excessively short were forced to cover their positions after the FBI statement," Rudramurthy B.V., head of research at Vachana Investments Pvt, said by phone from Bengaluru. “Even if the worst-case scenario of a Trump win materializes, it would be a good time to buy Indian stocks for the long term." He is bullish on drugmakers and software exporters after their recent declines.

Clinton maintains about a 2.2 percentage-point lead, according to an average of polls by RealClearPolitics.

Foreigners have sold $95 million of Indian stocks this month, adding to the $746 million withdrawn in October that was the first selloff in eight months. Local mutual funds have bought shares worth $43 million, extending October's net purchases of $1.2 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Sensex has climbed 5.2 percent this year and trades at 16.3 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with a five-year average of 14.4 times.

• PNB Housing Finance Ltd. surged 13 percent in its trading debut.
  
  
• Punjab National Bank rallied 4.5 percent, the most since Sept. 28, after its second-quarter profit beat estimates.
  
  
• Lupin jumped 6.3 percent, the most since Feb. 5, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared its Goa facility, removing a regulatory overhang.
  
  
• Credit Analysis & Research Ltd. advanced 3.3 percent after its second-quarter profit of 432.3 million rupees exceeded estimates.
  
  
  

To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeff Sutherland at jsutherlan13@bloomberg.net, Ravil Shirodkar, Andreea Papuc