Exit polls euphoria: Sensex hits 24K, Nifty jumps to new peak

Mumbai: Exit polls showing the BJP-led NDA is projected to form the next government gave a fresh boost to domestic markets today with the BSE benchmark Sensex zooming to new all-time high of 24,068.94 and NSE Nifty surging to 7,172.35, the third straight record-setting session.

At close, the Sensex concluded at a new high of 23,871.23, showing a sharp gain of 320.23 points, or 1.36 per cent, over Monday. Hopes of a stable business-friendly government at the Centre also helped 50-share NSE Nifty finish at a new closing peak of 7,108.75, logging a rise of 94.50 or 1.35 per cent. The BJP-led NDA is projected to form the government at the Centre with exit polls on Monday night giving between 249 and 290 seats to the Narendra Modi-led grouping, which is close to the half-way mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

Shares of Power, Consumer Durable, Refinery, IT, Capital Goods, Realty and Teck shot up on persistent buying, said traders. In three straight days, the Sensex has gained over 1,500 points and the Nifty nearly 450 points ahead of May 16 election results. The market sentiment was also boosted by data showing that foreign funds made substantial purchases as they bought shares worth a net Rs 1,217.95 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Market participants seemed to ignore data, which came after markets closed yesterday, showing retail inflation rose to three-month high of 8.59 per cent in April, squeezing the space for the Reserve Bank to ease interest rates in the monetary policy review in June. Jignesh Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking Services said: "Local equities opened strong taking cues from yesterday's exit polls which showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will be on the winning side in the Lok Sabha elections.

Investors feel that if Modi wins these elections then his presence will boost markets & also the FIIs will pour in more money..." Globally, most Asian stocks ended higher as investors weighed earnings and after US stocks climbed to record high overnight. Benchmark indices in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan were up by 0.11 per cent to 1.95 per cent while Shanghai Composite declined by 0.10 per cent. Singapore market was closed today.