Indian Stocks Extend Gains Toward New Record on Vaccine Optimism

(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks rose amid expectations that a rollout of the coronavirus vaccine will aid a business and economic recovery.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced for a ninth day, adding 0.6% to 48,135.33 as of 9:36 a.m. in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index also climbed 0.6%. Both indexes were on course to close at new record highs.

The Serum Institute of India Ltd., which is producing the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, expects the government to sign a formal supply and pricing agreement within days after the shot was approved for emergency usage in the world’s second-largest Covid-19 hotspot.

“We are starting the year with a lot of optimism over the vaccine,” said Kranthi Bathini, a strategist at Mumbai-based WealthMills Securities Ltd. “This is a buy-on-dips market. We are retaining value in our portfolio and also booking profits where there is excessive exuberance.”

The Numbers

• All except one of 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. rose, led by a gauge of metal companies
• Infosys Ltd. contributed the most to the Sensex advance, increasing 1%, while Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd. had the largest gain, rising 3%

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