Benchmark indices touched new highs on Monday ahead of the 7th phase of Lok Sabha Elections. While BSE Sensex crossed the 76,000 mark, NSE Nifty touched a new high of 23,110. The market rally is largely driven by broader optimism in global markets and among domestic investors as the day for election results comes closer.
IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers in the market. NSE's Banking index also climbed nearly 600 points, trading at the 49,561 level mark.
Nifty IT was also up by more than a percent, hovering around 34,200 level mark.
At 02:00 pm, Sensex was up by 456 points at 75,867 level. Whereas, the 50-share index Nifty was trading at 23,073 level, an increase of nearly 116 points.
Nifty PSU Bank came out on top with an increase of nearly 1.63 per cent, while the energy index remained under pressure.
Meanwhile, international brokerage firm UBS has warned that equity valuations could fall to pre-NDA levels if BJP loses the ongoing elections and the opposition coalition forms the government.
“Any unexpected outcome will likely be perceived negatively at least at first, due to political instability and possible policy paralysis weighing on business sentiment and impacting investor confidence. This could trigger knee-jerk reactions in financial markets in the near term, with equity valuations possibly testing pre-NDA levels,” the brokerage firm said.
The final phase of the Lok Sabha elections is set to begin on June 1, marking the 7th phase of the ongoing elections. The results are expected on June 4.
