Last Updated on November 11, 2026 7:45 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ

Moody’s raises India growth forecast to 7%

By Our Business Correspondent

Indian equity markets ended higher on Wednesday, extending their positive momentum as easing crude oil prices, sustained foreign fund inflows and growing hopes of a de-escalation in the Iran conflict helped improve investor sentiment. Buying interest in banking, automobile and select heavyweight stocks supported the benchmarks, although profit booking at higher levels trimmed much of the gains recorded during the early trading session.

The benchmark indices opened on a firm note and maintained their upward trajectory in the first half of the session. The Nifty 50 touched an intraday high of 25,424.35 before investors turned cautious and booked profits in select counters. Despite the late-session moderation, the index managed to hold above the psychologically important 25,250 mark.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 772.75 points, or 0.95 per cent, to settle at 81,879.40. The NSE Nifty 50 gained 210.40 points, or 0.84 per cent, to close at 25,255.05.

Market sentiment was supported by expectations that easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia could help stabilise energy supplies and reduce uncertainty surrounding global commodity markets. Lower crude prices are particularly significant for India, which depends heavily on imported oil and remains vulnerable to fluctuations in international energy prices.

However, the market’s inability to sustain its intraday highs indicated that investors remained selective, preferring to book profits after the recent gains rather than build aggressive positions at elevated valuations.

Auto and banking stocks lead the rally

Automobile and banking shares emerged among the principal drivers of Wednesday’s advance. Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest Nifty gainer, rising 5.30 per cent, while Bharti Airtel advanced 1.78 per cent and HDFC Bank gained 1.06 per cent.

Buying in these heavyweight stocks provided substantial support to the benchmark indices. The automobile sector attracted interest amid expectations of sustained domestic demand, while banking stocks benefited from selective buying in large-cap financial counters.

The broader market also participated in the rally, indicating that the positive sentiment was not restricted to a handful of heavyweight companies.

The Nifty MidCap 150 index advanced 0.85 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap 250 index registered a stronger gain of 1.26 per cent. The relatively better performance of small-cap stocks suggested an improvement in risk appetite among investors.

Market breadth on the BSE remained firmly positive. A total of 2,913 shares advanced, compared with 1,592 declining stocks, while 222 shares remained unchanged.

The broader participation provided further evidence of improving sentiment across market segments.

Meanwhile, the India VIX, which measures the market’s expectation of near-term volatility, edged up 0.88 per cent to 17.58. The increase suggested that investors continued to factor in some uncertainty despite the benchmark indices closing in positive territory.

Moody’s raises India’s FY27 growth forecast to 7%

On the economic front, Moody’s Ratings raised its forecast for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in FY27 to 7 per cent from its earlier estimate of 6.5 per cent, citing the resilience of domestic consumption, improving investment activity and the economy’s ability to withstand the energy supply shock caused by the Iran conflict.

The revised projection reflects the rating agency’s assessment that India’s economic fundamentals remain relatively strong despite the challenges posed by geopolitical tensions and elevated international energy prices.

According to Moody’s, diversified sources of crude oil and natural gas supplies have helped India cushion the impact of disruptions in global energy markets. Support from state-backed oil marketing companies and tax reductions has also played a role in limiting the transmission of higher international energy costs to the domestic economy.

The agency also highlighted encouraging developments in industrial activity as signs that private investment could gradually recover.

Strong production in the capital goods sector, rising industrial credit and higher capacity utilisation indicate that businesses may be preparing to expand production capacity in response to improving demand conditions.

The investment outlook is particularly important for sustaining India’s growth momentum. While government capital expenditure has supported infrastructure development and economic activity, a broader recovery in private sector investment would be essential to strengthen the medium-term growth outlook.

However, Moody’s cautioned that several risks could affect the growth trajectory. These include widening inflationary pressures, the possibility of a deficient monsoon and tighter monetary policy.

A sustained increase in energy prices could also complicate the inflation outlook by raising transportation, manufacturing and input costs across several sectors.

Crude, bond yields and currency movements

Developments in the commodity and currency markets remained important indicators for investors.

Brent crude futures for December 2026 delivery rose $1.74, or 1.90 per cent, to $93.23 a barrel. Although crude prices remained an important concern amid geopolitical uncertainty, the broader market continued to draw support from expectations of improved stability in energy supplies.

In the domestic debt market, the yield on India’s 10-year benchmark government security increased to 7.212 per cent from the previous session’s close of 7.156 per cent, representing a rise of 0.78 per cent.

Higher bond yields can influence borrowing costs across the economy and are closely monitored by equity investors, particularly in interest-rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, real estate and automobiles.

The Indian rupee registered a marginal improvement against the US dollar. The partially convertible currency was trading at 93.7300 per dollar, compared with its previous close of 93.7700.

In the precious metals market, MCX gold futures for delivery on December 4, 2026, advanced 0.61 per cent to Rs 1,41,369.

The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major international currencies, gained 0.20 per cent to 102.46.

Meanwhile, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note increased 0.50 per cent to 5.009 per cent, reflecting continued pressure in the international bond market.

Global markets: Technology shares support Europe and Asia

Global equity markets presented a mixed picture, with technology stocks providing support to European and several Asian markets, even as Wall Street ended lower in the previous session.

European equity indices traded higher on Wednesday, supported by renewed interest in technology companies following strong quarterly results from US artificial intelligence infrastructure provider CoreWeave.

The company’s performance reinforced optimism surrounding demand for AI-related computing infrastructure, although concerns about stronger-than-expected US inflation and rising bond yields limited the broader market advance.

Most Asian equity indices also ended higher, led by semiconductor stocks. The gains came despite the previous session’s losses on Wall Street, as investors continued to balance optimism over artificial intelligence investments against concerns that persistent inflation could prompt further monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve.

US markets had closed lower on Tuesday after inflation data strengthened expectations of another Federal Reserve interest-rate increase in December.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 157.86 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 52,231.89. The S&P 500 dropped 29.01 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 7,520.93, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 187.26 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 25,065.87.

Technology shares led the decline, with semiconductor stocks remaining under pressure amid renewed volatility surrounding artificial intelligence-related investments.

Nvidia was among the major drags, falling 5.4 per cent following reports of an internal investigation into suspected chip shipments to China involving its chief executive, Jensen Huang. The stock has declined 9.6 per cent over the past two trading sessions.

In Japan, SoftBank Group shares fell 3.3 per cent after the company reported a net loss of $7 billion for the second quarter, partly attributed to substantial investments in US data centre infrastructure.

AI investments remain in focus

Developments in the artificial intelligence industry continued to influence global technology stocks.

CoreWeave attracted considerable attention after reporting a 168 per cent year-on-year surge in third-quarter revenue to $3.66 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $2.26 billion from $838 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The company also raised its FY26 revenue guidance to between $13 billion and $13.3 billion. Its adjusted operating income guidance was increased to a range of $1.275 billion-$1.375 billion.

The results highlighted the rapid expansion of demand for computing infrastructure required to support AI applications, although the scale of investment in data centres and related facilities has also raised questions about capital requirements and future profitability.

Another significant development involved Anthropic, which is reportedly pursuing a potential public listing that could raise as much as $64.4 billion and value the artificial intelligence company at up to $1.4 trillion.

Meanwhile, US consumer inflation increased 0.4 per cent month-on-month in October, following a 0.6 per cent rise in September. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3 per cent, exceeding the market expectation of 0.2 per cent.

Higher shelter costs accounted for more than 30 per cent of the monthly increase in headline inflation.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics could not publish the usual annual inflation rates for October because it had not collected October 2025 survey data during the previous year’s government funding lapse. The absence of comparable annual figures added to the challenges facing investors attempting to assess the underlying inflation trend.

Stocks in focus: Kalyan Jewellers, Jyoti Structures rally

Among individual stocks, Kalyan Jewellers India surged 8.63 per cent after reporting a strong financial performance for the second quarter of FY27.

The company’s consolidated net profit increased 64 per cent year-on-year to Rs 427.1 crore, compared with the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Profit also improved 22 per cent sequentially from Rs 348.7 crore in the first quarter.

Revenue from operations rose 31 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10,322.6 crore from Rs 7,856 crore. However, revenue declined 3 per cent sequentially from Rs 10,588.9 crore in the preceding quarter.

Jyoti Structures advanced 20 per cent after announcing that its lenders had released bank guarantees and letters of credit under the resolution plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The company said the facilities were being progressively restored following its requests to lenders. The resolution plan had envisaged bank guarantees and letters of credit worth Rs 510.59 crore. The development is significant for the company’s ability to undertake projects and participate in new business opportunities.

Matrimony.com gained 4.72 per cent after reporting a 167.3 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 20.7 crore in Q2 FY27.

Revenue rose 17.6 per cent to Rs 134.8 crore from Rs 114.6 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. On a sequential basis, net profit increased 8.6 per cent from Rs 19.1 crore, while revenue improved 3.3 per cent from Rs 130.5 crore.

HLE Glascoat hit its 5 per cent upper circuit after its subsidiary, Kinam Engineering Industries, secured an international order valued at $42 million-$48 million.

The order was placed by a leading international company operating in the long-duration energy storage sector. It covers the design, engineering, manufacturing, testing and supply of specialised shell-and-tube heat exchangers and associated process equipment.

Titagarh Rail Systems gained 4.01 per cent after reporting a 49.23 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 63.17 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, against Rs 42.33 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

However, revenue from operations registered a marginal decline of 0.81 per cent to Rs 792.56 crore, indicating that the improvement in profitability came despite slightly lower revenue.

HEG Advanced Materials edged up 0.06 per cent after its subsidiary, TACC, received an approval letter for an incentive of Rs 609.50 crore under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS). The development is expected to support the company’s participation in the domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

Artson rose 1.22 per cent after securing a purchase order worth Rs 16.07 crore, excluding GST, from Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur facility.

The contract covers the supply of two dome and reformer shells and has been awarded on an item-rate basis. The order is scheduled for execution by May 6, 2027.

Outlook: Investors balance growth optimism with global risks

Wednesday’s trading session reflected a cautiously optimistic mood in domestic equity markets. Improved participation across mid-cap and small-cap stocks, buying in banking and automobile shares and expectations of a better domestic growth outlook helped the benchmarks maintain their upward momentum.

Moody’s upward revision of India’s FY27 growth forecast provided an additional positive signal, reinforcing confidence in the resilience of domestic demand and the potential recovery in private investment.

Nevertheless, investors are likely to remain sensitive to movements in crude oil prices, developments in West Asia, US inflation data and expectations surrounding the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

The direction of foreign institutional investment flows, the rupee’s performance and domestic corporate earnings will also remain important factors in determining the sustainability of the market recovery.

For now, the ability of the Nifty to sustain itself above 25,250 and the Sensex to hold on to its gains will be closely watched as investors assess whether the latest advance can develop into a broader and more durable market uptrend.

Disclaimer: Stock market investments are subject to market risks. Please consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.