Sensex today: Some analysts expect the rally in the markets before election results to be short-lived Domestic stock markets started Monday's session on a strong note, with the Sensex soaring more than 1,000 points, a day after exit polls predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win almost as many seats as it did in 2014 and form a government comfortably.
The SP BSE Sensex surged as much as 1,041.98 points to hit 38,972.75 in late morning deals, and the NSE Nifty climbed to 11,713.90, up 306.75 points from the previous close.
Advances in financial, auto, energy and metal stocks supported the markets.
Here are 10 things to know:At 11:57 am, the Sensex traded 1,031.59 points - or 2.72 per cent - higher at 38,962.36, while the Nifty was up 300.10points, or 2.63 per cent, at 11,707.25.Top gainers on the 50-scrip index at the time were Adani Ports,Indiabulls Housing Finance, State Bank of India (SBI), Grasim Industries, UltraTech CementandLarsen Toubro, trading between 5.06 per cent and 7.35 per cent higher.Reliance Industries, HDFC and ICICI Bank contributed the most to the advances on Sensex.Some analysts expect a rally in the markets till the election results due on Thursday."Any movement in the markets till election results will depend on the positions investors have taken.
If there is a huge short position, a rally may be on the cards but it will be short-lived since valuations are not cheap at present," AK Prabhakar, IDBI Capital, told TheIndianSubcontinent.The poll of polls, an aggregate of exit polls, gives the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 302 of 543 seats.(Read more: NDA to form government comfortably, predicts poll of polls)"A stable government will be best for the markets," he said.Equities in other Asian markets were steady as investors tried to catch their breath following another week of escalating trade tensions between the US and China.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan tacked on 0.6 per cent in early trade, after a 3 per cent loss the previous week.Japan's Nikkei index added 0.4 per cent, after data showed growth in the world's third-biggest economy unexpectedly accelerated in the first quarter.The rupee appreciated to 69.44 against the dollar in intraday trade, marking a gain of 79 paise compared with the previous close.The Nifty had risen 128.25 points - or 1.14 per cent - last week, and the Sensex added467.78 points (1.25 per cent).(With inputs from Reuters)Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections.
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Election results will be out on May 23.