Indian shares book fourth straight weekly gain on government support boost

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares retreated from record highs on Friday but posted their fourth straight week of gains as a series of government support schemes boosted sentiment across sectors.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index index ended down 0.3% at 17,585.15, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.2% to 59,015.89.

Both the indexes gained more than 1.2% for the week, extending a run that has made them the best performing Asian equities so far this year thanks to an accommodative monetary policy and easing COVID-19 curbs.

“There is also support from an expected postponement of the tapering of bond-buying as inflation remains under control … liquidity continues to pour in,” said KK Mittal, an investment advisor at Venus India.

Banking stocks were among the top performers this week, rising 3%. The gains came after the finance ministry on Thursday announced a 306.00 billion rupees ($4.16 bln) guarantee for securities to be issued by a newly incorporated “bad bank,” the latest attempt to clean up the country’s pile of bad loans.

The subindex ended 0.4% higher on Friday to register four consecutive sessions of gains.

Banks with exposure to debt-laden telecom companies also benefited from a government relief package for the sector unveiled on Wednesday.

The S&P BSE Telecom index ended 0.9% higher on Friday and advanced 6.7% for the week.

Auto stocks notched a weekly gain of 2.4%, helped by the federal cabinet approving an incentive scheme for the sector aimed at boosting the production of electric and hydrogen fuel-powered vehicles.

Among the big movers on Friday, airline operator InterGlobe Aviation rose 10.9% after regulatory data showed passenger growth jumping in August as COVID-related travel restrictions eased.

Rival SpiceJet advanced 3.4%.

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