Indian shares snap losing streak

Indian shares rebounded to end higher on Friday, after three sessions of declines, as investors awaited an official announcement later in the day amid expectations of a fiscal stimulus to revive growth in Asia's third-largest economy. The broader NSE index closed up 0.82% at 10,829.35, while the benchmark BSE index ended 0.63% higher at 36,701.16.
The NSE index closed 1.98% lower for the week, as trading was dominated by global economic slowdown worries as well as investor concerns about India's fiscal stimulus. Markets had a volatile session on Friday as investors parsed through a series of headlines relating to a possible economic stimulus, but turned higher after news that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would hold a press conference at 1130 GMT later in the day.
The Nifty Media index rose 4.4%, gaining the most among the 14 sectoral indexes. Shares of miner Vedanta Ltd were among the top gainers in the index, settling up 5.7% for the day. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries Ltd closed 2.35% higher. Only nine of 50 scrips in the NSE index finished the day in the red. Markets began the day sharply lower before rebounding on a report from Bloomberg News that quoted a government official as saying that New Delhi could announce a rollback of taxes for foreign portfolio investors.
India, Asia's third-biggest economy, is facing a slowdown that has dampened demand for everything from cars to cookies, and Indian markets have slid more than 10% since hitting a peak in June. Stock indexes were set to finish the week about 3% lower, their sharpest drop since early May. Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian's comment on Thursday, suggesting that companies should not depend on the government for a stimulus, added to the gloom.
Speaking at the same event in New Delhi as Subramanian, the vice-chairman of the government's top think tank reportedly suggested the government might have to take "extraordinary" measures to tackle the economic slowdown. On Friday, shares in cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate ITC Ltd were the top loser with a 2% drop. Shares in miner Vedanta Ltd were the top gainer, rising 4.8% after a string of losses this week. Meanwhile, the rupee hit a fresh eight-month low of 72.0475 and was last down 0.18% against the dollar.