Sensex Ends 692 Points Higher, Nifty Tops 22,800; BHEL Jumps 9%

Sensex Today: Equity markets moved higher for a second straight day on Thursday as investors were relieved from the likelihood of Narendra Modi being given a third term as the Prime Minister of the country.

The BSE Sensex, though volatile through the session, stayed positive during the day and closed at 75,075, up 692 points or 0.93 per cent. The Nifty50, too, shut shop at 22,821, up 201 points or 0.89 per cent.

HCL Tech, Tech M, SBI, Infosys, NTPC, L&T, Tata Steel, Wipro, TCS, and Bharti Airtel were the top performing large-caps, up in the range of 1.5-4.5 per cent. On the downside, HUL, M&M, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Nestle India, and Axis Bank settled lower, down up to 2 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index gained 2.3 per cent, and the BSE SmallCap index rallied 3.3 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty Realty climbed 4.7 per cent, the Nifty PSU Bank 2.9 per cent, and the Nifty IT 2.8 per cent.

Market View| V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services

“As the market comes back to normalcy after the abnormal volatility of the last three days, the global construct has turned favourable with rising possibility of rate cuts by the Fed. Clear signs of weakening labour market in the US has led to sharp decline in the US bond yield to 4.29%. Even though this is favourable for foreign capital inflows, the FIIs continue to sell on high valuations in India particularly in comparison to the cheap valuations of Chinese stocks.In the near-term we have political stability but political developments will continue to weigh on markets. A concern in the market is that the BJP’s dependence on allies might put economic reforms on the back burner impacting growth and thereby corporate earnings in the long run."

Global Cues

Asia-Pacific markets today showed an upward trend, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 1.02 per cent, while the broader Topix index climbing 0.59 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi, too, edged up by 1.03 per cent. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading 0.85 per cent higher at 18,581 levels.

Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added by 0.25 per cent. Similarly, the S&P 500 rose by 1.18 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 1.96 per cent.