Indian equity benchmarks made flat-to-positive start on Friday tracking firm global cues. Traders took note of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India is increasingly not only a major growth market, but a platform for global production, innovation, services and exports. However, upside remained capped ahead of the release of India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for July later in the day. Also, investors remained focused on U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
Both Sensex and Nifty were trading higher in early deals supported by gains in index heavyweight information technology (IT) stocks. TCS, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were leading the gainers. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher, tracking the overnight gains on Wall Street, supported by strength in technology and IT services stocks. Meanwhile, inflation in Tokyo, a leading indicator of nationwide price trends, remained close to the Bank of Japan's 2% target in August. Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile fresh food prices, rose 1.8% year-on-year, up slightly from 1.7% in July and broadly in line with expectations.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77268.11, up by 334.52 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 77043.34 and 77291.45. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.85%, TECK up by 2.06%, Telecom up by 1.01%, Bankex up by 0.99% and Metal up by 0.58%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.31%, Utilities down by 0.24%, Power down by 0.23%, Energy down by 0.15% and Capital Goods down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 3.32%, Infosys up by 2.93%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.80%, HCL Technologies up by 2.75% and Power Grid up by 0.91%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.17%, ICICI Bank down by 0.64%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.30%, State Bank of India down by 0.16% and Bharat Electronics down by 0.05% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings has retained India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB’ with a stable outlook, and said that the country is a dynamic and fast-growing economy supported by policy stability and high infrastructure investment. In August last year, the rating agency upgraded India’s long-term sovereign credit rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-’, marking the first upgrade in 18 years. The ‘BBB’ rating is an investment-grade rating, indicating that India has adequate capacity to meet its financial commitments, although it remains more vulnerable to adverse economic conditions than higher-rated sovereigns. It said public investment and strong consumer momentum will underpin “solid” growth prospects for India over the next two to three years. It also expects policy continuity to support further economic reforms and fiscal consolidation.
Affirming its ‘BBB’ long-term and ‘A-2’ short-term unsolicited sovereign credit ratings on India, S&P said the ratings are anchored by the country’s dynamic and fast-growing economy, strong external balance sheet and stable institutions, which support policy predictability. The outlook on the long-term rating remains stable. The stable outlook reflects S&P’s view that continued policy stability and high infrastructure investment will support India’s long-term growth prospects. The agency said the government’s ability to fund large infrastructure investments without substantially widening the country’s current account deficit will be important. If India is able to significantly reduce its fiscal deficit while achieving these objectives, support for the sovereign rating will strengthen over time. It added that the growth outlook, together with stable fiscal and monetary policies that help moderate the government’s elevated debt and interest burden, will underpin the rating over the next 24 months.
The rating agency said high energy prices and challenging agricultural conditions are expected to marginally slow India’s growth this year, although the economy’s fundamentals are likely to remain sound and support robust growth over the next two to three years. It identified the government’s weak fiscal performance, high debt stock and low GDP per capita as key constraints on the sovereign rating. S&P said India remains one of the best-performing economies globally, although it expects GDP growth to slow to 6.6 per cent in the current fiscal year due to an ongoing energy shock and challenging agricultural conditions. The Indian economy grew 7.7 per cent in FY26.
According to S&P, more effective capital expenditure programmes, including greater participation from the private sector, could help address the widespread shortfall in physical infrastructure and, over time, enhance the economy’s productive capacity. The agency also noted that India faces gaps in the provision of basic services, particularly in rural areas. Improved physical infrastructure is a prerequisite for higher private investment and greater competitiveness. While India faces near-term inflationary pressures from elevated energy and food prices, S&P also expects inflation to remain within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) target range.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24160.05, up by 69.20 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 24106.55 and 24166.25. There were 24 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining, while 2 stocks remain unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 3.66%, HCL Technologies up by 3.18%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.97%, Infosys up by 2.59% and Wipro up by 2.04%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.22%, Eternal down by 0.70%, ICICI Bank down by 0.55%, Adani Enterprises down by 0.54% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.50% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 391.02 points or 0.59% to 66,523.00, Taiwan Weighted jumped 387.29 points or 0.84% to 46,362.51, Hang Seng rose 99.26 points or 0.39% to 25,665.00, Jakarta Composite gained 30.53 points or 0.47% to 6,552.28, Straits Times strengthened 13.82 points or 0.24% to 5,697.94 and Shanghai Composite was up by 3.07 points or 0.08% to 3,959.64, while KOSPI fell 93.70 points or 1.37% to 6,818.67.
