India Shares Pop as S&P Upgrade, Tax Hopes Lift Mood — Market Talk
Indian stocks have some wind in their sails on the first day back after a holiday Friday. The benchmark Sensex is up 1.15% at 81524.53. The gains also follow S&P Global Ratings' upgrade of India's sovereign rating. Banks and financial stocks are leading the session charge, as S&P also upgraded long-term issuer credit ratings on seven banks and three finance firms. It expects financial institutions to keep riding India's good economic growth, and reckons banks will maintain adequate asset quality, profitability, and enhanced capitalization over the next 12-24 months, despite some pockets of stress. Proposed tax measures, meanwhile, should boost festive demand and the keenly watched FY27 earnings outlook, Citi analysts say. Bajaj Finance rises 6.0%, Kotak Mahindra Bank adds 2.1% and Axis Bank gains 1.7%. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)