Indian markets ended at record highs on Monday, a day after Lok Sabha exit polls showed the National Democratic Alliance retaining power with a comfortable majority.
The Sensex surged 3.75% to close 1,421.90 points higher at 39,352.67, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 ended 3.69%, or 421.10 points, higher at 11,828.25.
The top stocks on the Sensex were IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, Yes Bank and Larsen & Toubro. On the Nifty 50, the stocks which gained the most were Adani Ports, Indiabulls Housing Finance, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India and Tata Motors.
Bajaj Auto and Infosys were the only stocks to decline on the Sensex on Monday. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Zee Entertainment, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra and Infosys declined on the Nifty 50.
The rupee appreciated by 49 paise, the biggest single-day gain in two months, to close at 69.74 against the US dollar, PTI reported. The Indian currency had opened at 70.36 against the dollar.
“Indian markets expectedly cheered the outcome of the exit polls and Nifty registered its largest point gain since January 25, 2009,” Dhiraj Relli, MD and CEO of HDFC Securities told Business Standard. “Markets seem to have almost fully discounted the outcome of final election results. Institutional buying was seen on Monday, which triggered some amount of short covering. Over the next three days, markets could look up to corporate results and/or global developments.”
“Most of the exit polls are predicting the continuity of a stable government, which is a positive sign for the markets considering that the overhang of political uncertainty will be out of the way,” Centrum Broking Head of Research (Wealth) Jagannadham Thunuguntla told Mint. “The continuation of policies and reforms is an added comfort.” However, he said that after the election results are announced on May 23, markets will once again focus on the economy and earnings.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Tata Motors were among the key firms that announced their earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018-’19 on Monday.
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