India’s large-cap stocks are attracting increased investor attention ahead of Diwali after the country’s equity market outperformed its Asian peers in October and topped the global initial public offering rankings. Large-cap shares led the advance, although questions remain over whether the momentum can be sustained.
Software services exporters occupied all five top positions in the large-cap index during October, according to the supplied market summary. The shift toward larger companies comes as investors contend with a global selloff in artificial-intelligence-related stocks and continued weakness among small-cap shares.
Several Indian companies are due to report results, including ITC, Marico and Petronet LNG. Reliance Industries and Jio Platforms are also in focus after releasing stronger-than-expected earnings following Friday’s market close.
Reliance Industries’ profit exceeded analyst estimates, supported by stronger margins from refining crude oil into fuels. Jio Platforms reported a 14% increase in profit, attributed to growth in higher-paying users.
India’s goods and services tax collections provided another positive signal for government finances. Collections rose 23% from a year earlier to 2.31 trillion rupees in October, the second-highest level on record, according to official data released Sunday.
Sources: Bloomberg Markets.