India’s BSE Sensex rose about 2.4% up at 73,657 on Wednesday, recovering from losses in the previous two sessions, driven by optimism that the conflict in the Middle East could end soon, which pushed oil prices lower. US President Trump said Washington could end its military actions on Iran within two to three weeks and added that Iran would not need to strike a deal for the conflict to wind down.
Meanwhile, India’s final HSBC Manufacturing PMI for March is expected to ease at 55.2 on Thursday, revised from 53.8 in the preliminary data and down from February’s 56.9. On the corporate front, auto stocks drew focus as companies reported March sales, IndiGo appointed Willie Walsh as CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks announced it would end its Dunkin’ partnership after 2026, and Tenneco Clean Air India received a “buy” rating from Citi due to growth linked to its parent company. Among the early gainers were BSE (6.9%), Bharat Electronics (6%), HDFC Bank (2.9%), ICICI Bank (1.4%), and Vedanta (3.4%).
