India stocks gain as investors seek safety in consumer firms

Indian stocks advanced as investors bought companies most-tied to the economy after the UK's decision to leave the European Union left global markets in disarray. Drugmaker Lupin surged the most in three months, while Bharti Airtel rallied the most in a week. Hindustan Unilever had the steepest advance since March 21 and ITC, the largest tobacco company, climbed to a one-month high. Tata Motors , Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, which get about a quarter of their sales from Europe, were the worst performers on the BSE Sensex.

About $3.6 trillion has been wiped from the value of global shares since the day of the vote last Thursday. In India, an index of smaller companies climbed to its highest level since January as investors snapped up companies that gain the most from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's growth-boosting policies and have no business links with Europe. The Sensex climbed 0.5 percent at the close. "India could be a relatively safer haven," Arvind Sanger, managing partner at Geosphere Capital Management LLC, told Bloomberg TV India.

Bloomberg