India stocks advanced as overseas investment into local shares picked up pace amid a steady decline in new coronavirus cases.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.7% to 52,300.47, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index climbed 0.6% to 15,737.75. The Bajaj twins — Bajaj Finance Ltd. and Bajaj Finserv — were the best performers on both indices. Of the 30 shares in the Sensex, 23 gained and 7 fell.
The broader market outperformed their larger peers. The S&P BSE MidCap gained 1.26% and S&P BSE SmallCap advanced 1.73%. Eighteen of the 19 sector sub-indices compiled by BSE Ltd. increased, led by a gauge of real estate companies. The S&P BSE Auto Index was the lone drag, falling 0.1%.
The market breadth was firmly skewed in favour of the bulls. About 2,454 stocks gained, 729 declined and 150 remained unchanged, according to the BSE data.
Global investors have bought shares worth $1.1 billion this month through Tuesday, compared with nearly $749 million for all of last month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Equities have received inflows of over $7.7 billion this year.
