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Indian equity markets ended near day’s high points on Tuesday as S&P Global Ratings has raised India's growth forecast for the current financial year (FY24) to 6.4 per cent. Today, markets are likely to make optimistic start on firm cues from global markets. Falling US Treasury yields likely to support domestic sentiments. Traders may get support as S&P Global Ratings in its a report titled China Slows India Grows,  said India's GDP growth rate will rise to 7 per cent by 2026 compared to 4.6 per cent for China. It expects Asia-Pacific’s growth engine to shift from China to South and Southeast Asia. Further, foreign fund inflows likely to support sentiments. Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed that foreign institutional investors net bought shares worth Rs 783.82 crore on November 28. Meanwhile, the mines ministry said the government will launch the first round of auction of critical and strategic minerals on Wednesday putting 20 blocks under the hammer. Twenty blocks of critical and strategic minerals being put on sale are spread across the country. Critical minerals are important for the country’s economic development and national security. However, there may be some cautiousness in the markets ahead of the exit polls of five state elections on November 30 and monthly F&O expiry this week. There may be some buzz in coal and steel industries related stocks as private report said that India will step up imports of coking coal, a key material in steel manufacturing, from Russia, as cargoes from top supplier Australia drop and steel mills struggle with rising prices. There may also be some buzz in aviation industry related stocks as private report said that India’s air traffic is expected to rise about 15 per cent to 155 million passengers in 2023-24, despite the grounding of Go First.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green in early deals on Wednesday following positive cues from US markets overnight. The US markets ended higher on Tuesday on the heels of remarks by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller adding to recent optimism the Fed is done raising interest rates.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks snapped two days of losses to close higher in the volatile session on Tuesday on the back of fag-end buying in Utilities, Power and Oil & Gas shares helped by fresh foreign fund inflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,625.21 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Markets started mildly higher as traders got support with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data showing that India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $5.077 billion to $595.397 billion for the week ending November 17. Traders took a note of report that S&P Global Ratings has raised India's growth forecast for the current financial year (FY24) to 6.4 per cent, from 6 per cent, saying that robust domestic momentum has offset headwinds from high food inflation and weak exports. However, it cut the growth estimates for the next fiscal (FY25) to 6.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, as it expects growth to slow on a higher base, subdued global growth and lagged impact of interest rate hike. However, the markets erased some gains in the initial hours and witnessed a range-bound movement for most part of the session, as traders remained on sidelines ahead of the second-quarter GDP data, due on Thursday and the S&P Global Manufacturing PMI later on Friday. However, a sharp surge in the final hour helped indices to close near the day’s high levels. Traders found solace with Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) India stating that Indian engineering exports to 18 key markets recorded positive growth in October. Countries which registered positive growth in exports during October include the UK, US and UAE among others. Engineering exports to the US was $1391.5 million, up 2.2 per cent year-on-year against $1361 million. Some comfort also came in the markets as the commerce ministry is working to address issues related to non-tariff barriers and market access for domestic products in sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana and Gulf nations to boost India’s exports. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 204.16 points or 0.31% to 66,174.20 and the CNX Nifty was up by 95.00 points or 0.48% to 19,889.70.      

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