D-Street welcomes Moody upgrade with 400-point surge of Sensex

In the wake of Moody upgrading India's rating to Baa2 from Baa3, Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) Sensex registered nearly a 400-point increase in Friday morning trade.

While the 30-share Sensex was up 396.36 points to 33,503.18, the NSE's Nifty50 gained 117.10 points to 10,331.90, primarily fuelled by strong trade in bank equities.

The Indian Rupee too emerged strong in early trade, and was trading at 64.79 against US Dollar, higher by 52 paise, thus registering a four-year high against the previous close.

While shares of ICICI Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries, SBI and Axis Bank gained 1-3 percent, those of Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies and Wipro were under pressure, falling up to 1 per cent.

On a related note, Moody upgraded India's sovereign rating to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed the outlook to stable from positive, thus providing a much-needed impetus to the Modi Government.

Reports suggest that the global rating company said the reforms undertaken by the government would lead to an enhanced business environment, fuelling the foreign and domestic investment, and subsequently the growth momentum. It also noted that the reforms implemented reduced the risk of a sharp increase in debt, even in potential downside scenarios.

However, Moody argued that measures such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST), demonetisation, and others would need time to settle in, and the impact would be witnessed in due course of time. It also claimed that India's growth potential superseded that of many other sovereign nations.