Indian Nifty Futures Swing After Benchmarks Drop Most in a Week By Rajhkumar K Shaaw - Apr 27, 2014

Indian stock-index futures swung between gains and losses after benchmark indexes dropped the most in a week.

SGX CNX Nifty Index futures for May delivery fell 0.1 percent to 6,807 at 9:43 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index declined 0.9 percent to 6,782.75 on April 25, the biggest loss since April 16. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) lost 0.8 percent. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.- traded shares fell 0.6 percent.

The Sensex climbed to a record last week amid speculation an election victory for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party party will spur investment and boost economic growth. Opinion polls suggest the BJP will secure the most seats, ending the Congress Party’s decade-long rule. Counting begins May 16.

“Markets are expected to consolidate around the current levels till the outcome of the elections,” Dipen Shah, head of private client group research at Kotak Securities Ltd., wrote in an e-mail.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUVR), India’s biggest household products maker, may report its fourth-quarter profit rose 8 percent from a year earlier to 8.5 billion rupees ($140 million), according to the median estimate of 29 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Five out of the seven Sensex companies that have reported earnings for the three months ended March 31 have either exceeded or matched estimates.

Overseas investors bought a net $138 million of Indian shares on April 23, taking this year’s inflows to $5 billion.

The Sensex has climbed 7.2 percent this year and trades at 14.3 times projected 12-month profits. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has dropped 1 percent in 2014 and is valued at 10.4 times.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Richard Frost at rfrost4@bloomberg.net Matthew Oakley, Chan Tien Hin

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