After big gains in the previous session, Indian stocks opened higher in the second session after sentiment boosted state elections. Earlier, the Nifty was up 1.55 percent or 370.25 at 24,277.5, while the Sensex was up 1.59 percent or 1,259.2 at 80,376.32.
The Bank Nifty-high beta index rose around 2 percent led by gains in stocks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank among others.
Sector-wise, there was board buying with Realty and PSU Bank indices leading to gains with a rise of up to 2.8 percent at the last count.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services pointed out that the sharp rise will continue today aided by higher NDA performance in Maharashtra. The political message from this election is big and very good from the point of view of the marketThe important feature of Friday’s meeting was a big rally in many places where the shares increased by more than 4 percent. This clearly indicates short covering, which will keep the market strong today.
Whether the rally will continue in the next few days remains to be seen as wage headwinds will continue to pressure bulls, he added.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities said the GIFT Nifty has started roaring, buoyed by the BJP’s victory in Maharashtra, setting the stage for the Nifty to scale the psychological 25,000 mark in the short term. The trading range is indicated at 23,800-24,800, with resistance at 24,000 and strong support at 23,000-23,500.
FIIs, who sold Rs 40,947 crores in November, may start covering shorts as bullish momentum builds, supported by the Nifty closing above the 200-DMA and record highs in the Dow, Tapse added.
Asian markets
Asian markets traded in the green as the dollar and bond yields fell after the selection of fund manager Scott Besent as the next US Treasury secretary. MSCI’s broad index of MSCI Asia ex-Japan was up 0.4 percent at the last count.
