A man speaks on his mobile phone past a new brand identity for Nifty Indices inside the National Stock Exchange (NSE) building in Mumbai, India, May 28, 2019. REUTERS
April 29 (Reuters) – India’s benchmark indexes rose on Tuesday, supported by the chance of a trade deal with the U.S. and as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued to pile into the market.
The Nifty 50 had risen by 0.28% to 24,394.6 as of 10:03 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex had gained 0.29% to 80,445.
Other Asian markets were also higher, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS), adding 0.4%.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that one of the first deals to be signed could be with India as soon as this week or the next.
“The possibility of a bilateral deal with the U.S. is a real positive and could spur further buying interest in Indian markets, especially among foreign investors,” said Kranthi Bathini, director of equity strategy at Wealthmills Securities.
FPIs have pumped in $4.1 billion in the last nine sessions, the longest buying streak since July 2023. The Nifty has risen 6.6% over this period.
The market also shrugged off Pakistan’s defence minister’s comments that a military incursion by India was imminent in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack in Kashmir last week.
On the day, the broader mid and small-caps rose 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively.
Among individual stocks, auto parts makers Samvardhana Motherson and Sona BLW rose 3% each, while Bharat Forge gained 2.5% after the U.S. commerce secretary said President Donald Trump will move to reduce the impact of auto tariffs.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was up 1.4%, adding to its 5.3% surge to a six-month high on Monday following better-than-expected quarterly results.
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman and Savio D’Souza
