India Stocks Head for Longest Stretch of Weekly Gains Since July

(Bloomberg) — India’s stocks rose ahead of a monetary policy decision as indexes headed for their longest stretch of weekly gains since July.

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The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), cetner, in Mumbai.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.4% to 44,811.26 as of 9:31 a.m. in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index climbed 0.5%. Both gauges have added at least 1.5% this week and are set for new record highs and a fifth straight week of gains.

India’s central bank is expected to keep its key policy rate unchanged today, based on a survey of economists by Bloomberg. Policy makers may also comment on the economy’s outlook.

“We expect the rate-sensitive pack, especially banking and financials, to be in focus,” Ajit Mishra, vice president of research at Mumbai-based Religare Broking Ltd. said in a note late Thursday.

Read: RBI Faces Balancing Act on Liquidity Without Roiling Bond Market

Foreign net equity purchases of $16.6 billion this year through Dec. 2 are already the most since 2013 as funds have poured into India’s market chasing returns.

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The Numbers

Seventeen of 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. rose, led by a gauge of utilities companiesHDFC Bank Ltd. contributed the most to the index advance, increasing 0.6%, while UltraTech Cement Ltd. had the largest gain, rising 2.2%

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