India Stocks Decline Amid Prospect of U.S. Stimulus Delay

(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks fell, in line with a broad decline in Asian peers, as negotiations toward a U.S. stimulus deal showed no sign of progress needed for an agreement by year-end.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.3%, ending a 5-day series of consecutive gains, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index slipped 0.4%, snapping a seven-day win streak. Both gauges had touched a record high on Wednesday.

Agro-chemical maker UPL Ltd. was the worst performer on the Nifty with a 11% decline, its biggest drop since March 23, after Indian daily Economic Times reported on allegations that the company’s founders had siphoned off money. The company said the allegations are “motivated by malafide intentions” and that no siphoning of funds took place.

The Indian market decline on Thursday “appears to be a temporary pause as ample liquidity in the market has been continuously supporting a buy trend,” according to Ravi Singhal, a strategist at Jaipur-based GCL Securities Ltd.

Foreign investors have purchased a net $18.4 billion of Indian equities this year through Dec. 8, are already the most since 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Investors must focus on quality names with high margins of safety,” said Binod Modi, head of strategy at Reliance Securities Ltd. “A broad-based rally across all counters might not sustain for long and men would be separated from the boys in the context of potential of earnings recovery.”

The rupee weakened 0.1% to 73.6662 per U.S. dollar, while the yield on 10-year government bonds was little changed at 5.92%.

The Numbers

• Fifteen of 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. fell, led by a gauge of basic material companies
• HDFC Bank Ltd. contributed the most to the Sensex decline, decreasing 1.4%; UltraTech Cement Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 3.6%

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