(Bloomberg) -- India’s benchmark equity gauge posted its biggest gain since early June, boosted by lenders and market heavyweight Reliance Industries.
The NSE Nifty 50 index gained 2.4%, its biggest advance since June 5, to close at 23,907.25, while the BSE Sensex rose over 2.5%. Friday’s gain helped the Nifty halt two straight weeks of losses. For the year, the gauge is up 10% but has halved from its late-September peak.
Friday’s rally was also aided by optimism that an alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party may win in the Maharashtra state election. Home to India’s financial powerhouse of Mumbai, the state closed voting on Wednesday, with exit polls predicting victory for the BJP-led alliance when votes are counted on Saturday.
Shares of Adani Group companies were mixed, after a $27 billion rout in market value on Thursday following US prosecutors’ charges of bribery against billionaire founder Gautam Adani.
Indian equities have remained under pressure in recent weeks amid large outflows of foreign capital. Slowing earnings growth, elevated valuations and the uncertainty over interest rate cuts in the US have sagged risk appetite for the nation’s shares, with global funds pulling over $14 billion since start of October.
In the options market, traders aggressively wrote 23,500 put options expiring Nov. 28. The contract held the highest open interest, suggesting that traders see limited risk of significant selling, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The writing in the 23,500 November put clearly suggests traders are expecting a probable BJP victory in Maharashtra,” said Foram Chheda, founder at Mumbai-based ChartAnalytics.
--With assistance from Chiranjivi Chakraborty.
(Updates closing prices.)
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