Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-up opening on Wednesday tracking upbeat global cues from other Asian peers and on expectations peace talks between the US and Iran may resume and eventually release supply from the key West Asia producing region trapped by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Sensex and Nifty are trading firm in early deals with gains around 1.50% each in early deals on account of healthy buying in all the sector indices led by Industrials, IT and Capital Goods. Some optimism came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said India’s economy is expected to grow a tad faster at 6.5 per cent in 2027 despite escalating tensions in West Asia. Traders largely overlooked the government data showing the retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 3.40% (Provisional) in the month of March 2026 as compared to 3.21% in February 2026 on higher food prices.

On the sectoral front, automobile sector’s stocks were in focus as Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said that Automobile wholesales in India posted a record at 2,82,65,519 units in FY26, up 10.4 per cent year-on-year with all segments -- passenger and commercial vehicles, two and three-wheelers - recording the highest-ever sales in a fiscal, with GST 2.0 proving to be a key growth driver.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78015.51, up by 1167.94 points or 1.52% after trading in a range of 77849.52 and 78270.42. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stock declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 2.62%, IT up by 2.61%, Capital Goods up by 2.14%, TECK up by 1.85% and Power up by 1.82%, while there was no loser on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Interglobe Aviation up by 4.49%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.13%, TCS up by 3.06%, Infosys up by 2.68% and Eternal up by 2.60%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 0.12% was the sole loser.

Meanwhile, despite escalating tensions in West Asia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook (WEO), has projected that India’s economy is likely grow at 6.5 per cent in 2027. It also noted that growth for 2026 has been moderately revised upward by 0.3 percentage points (and by 0.1 percentage point compared to the January estimate) to 6.5 per cent. This upward revision is driven by positive carryover effects from the strong economic performance in 2025 and a reduction in additional US tariffs on Indian goods - from 50 per cent to 10 per cent - which outweigh the adverse impact of the Middle East conflict.

The 6.5 per cent growth projection makes India the fastest-growing major economy in 2026. The IMF added that, under the baseline assumption that the war will be relatively short-lived, global growth is expected to slow modestly. Growth is projected at 3.1 per cent in 2026 and 3.2 per cent in 2027, marking a deceleration from the estimated 3.4 per cent recorded in 2025. At market exchange rates, global output is expected to expand by 2.6 per cent in both 2026 and 2027.

The relatively modest downward revision to global growth in the reference forecast, compared to the January 2026 WEO update, reflects the presence of continued tailwinds that partially offset the negative shocks from the conflict. These include lower tariffs, existing policy support, and carryover effects from stronger-than-expected economic performance at the end of 2025 and in the first quarter of 2026 in some cases.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24193.10, up by 350.45 points or 1.47% after trading in a range of 24145.80 and 24280.90. There were 46 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Interglobe Aviation up by 4.52%, Max Healthcare Inst up by 3.41%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.11%, TCS up by 3.07% and Hindalco up by 2.95%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.95%, ONGC down by 0.45%, Coal India down by 0.28% and ICICI Bank down by 0.27% were the few losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Taiwan Weighted jumped 554.11 points or 1.53% to 36,850.23, Nikkei 225 surged 455.61 points or 0.79% to 58,333.00, Hang Seng strengthened 263.68 points or 1.01% to 26,136.00, KOSPI rose 175.02 points or 2.93% to 6,142.77, Straits Times increased 24.74 points or 0.49% to 5,032.31, Shanghai Composite advanced 14.82 points or 0.37% to 4,041.45 and Jakarta Composite was up by 12.33 points or 0.16% to 7,688.28.