(Bloomberg) -- India's equity benchmark snapped its longest losing streak since March, helped by sharp gains in Reliance Industries Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 2% to close at 37,687.91. The index had been falling for four sessions as some investors judged its rebound from March lows as overdone in the backdrop of the world's third-highest number of coronavirus cases. The NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 1.9% on Tuesday.
Reliance Industries surged 7%, the most since April 22, reversing a recent pull-back and rising above levels it was trading at before its first-quarter earnings, published last week.
The virus has pushed India's economy toward its first annual contraction in more than four decades. The country has one of the world's fastest growing epidemics, adding about 50,000 cases every day. The risk-reward is “unattractive” at current levels, with markets already pricing in a sharp recovery in growth, UBS Group AG's analysts Gautam Chhaochharia and Dipojjal Saha wrote in a note.
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As the reporting season continues, 20 out of 30 Nifty 50 companies that have posted earnings so far have exceeded or matched estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors will be watching for commentary on the economic outlook from the central bank on Thursday, when policy makers are expected to cut the key interest rate by 25 basis points.
India's rupee pared losses after touching the lowest level in two weeks to close the day 0.1% weaker per dollar at 75.0450, while sovereign bonds were little changed.
The Numbers
- Seventeen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, led by energy and financial stocks
- HDFC Bank Ltd. was among the top gainers on the Sensex index, adding 3.9%, after the central bank approved Sashidhar Jagdishan as managing director and chief executive officer.
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