Investors place bets on roadbuilders in hope of boost in infra spending

Sitharaman outlined $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment last month, of which federal and state govts will contribute at least 75%

Investors are piling into shares of Indian roadbuilders, betting that Saturday’s federal Budget will contain measures to spur investment in infrastructure.
 
A custom Bloomberg index of nine roadbuilders is up 8.9 per cent this month, versus the 0.1% per cent drop in the main S&P BSE Sensex index. The gauge includes IRB Infrastructure Developers, Sadbhav Engineering and KNR Constructions, some of which struggled in 2019 as national elections caused the government to defer spending.

The rally is being led by belief that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will need to do more to revive economic growth from the lowest