Sensex jumps 250 points on pre-election rally; Nifty tops 11,100

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Headline indices Sensex and Nifty opened with healthy gains on Monday even as Asian peers reflected sombre mood on concerns over
the health of global economy. Sensex jumped 250 points, a day after the Election Commission of India announced the dates for general
elections 2019
Analysts say while Asian markets are down after US payrolls shock, Indian market is witnessing a pre-election rally. Market appears to be
cheering the improved prospects of Narendra Modi-led government coming back to power after the general elections 2019
The latest CVoter pre-poll survey of March 2019 for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections has predicted the BJP-led NDA falling just short of the
majority mark of 272, winning 264 seats. The Indian general elections will be held in seven phases across 543 parliamentary constituencies
starting exactly a month from now on April 11 till May 19, the Election Commission (ECI) announced on Sunday
The results will be out on May 23. If history is any guide, the risk-reward ratio may be turning favourable for investors to increase their
bets on equities in March and April, thanks to a strong positive seasonality effect
compiled by IDFC Securities. The Indian market has been witnessing healthy FPI inflow of late
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Rs 1,095 crore worth of domestic stocks on Friday, data available with NSE suggested. Around 9:25
am, the BSE Sensex was 230 points, or 0.63 per cent, up at 36,902, while Nifty was 76 points, or 0.69 per cent, up at 11,111
BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were 0.68 per cent and 0.73 per cent up, respectively, at that time. In the Sensex kitty, only three stocks
- NTPC (down 0.46 per cent), ITC (down 0.15 per cent) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.06 per cent) - were down. ONGC, with gains of over 2 per
cent, was leading the pack of Sensex gainers
It was followed by Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, State Bank of India, Vedanta and Reliance Industries, rising over 1 per cent each. All
sectoral indices on BSE were in the green, with telecom, auto, consumer durables, oil gas and energy among the top gainers
Gains in shares of Bharti Infratel, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Sterlite Technologies gave a leg up to the telecom index.