Mumbai, May 23 (PTI) With nearly a fortnight left for the results of Lok Sabha polls, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty zoomed more than 1.6 per cent to close at lifetime high levels on Thursday, making investors richer by Rs 4.28 lakh crore.
Regaining the 75,000 level, the BSE Sensex ended at an all-time peak of 75,418.04, up by 1,196.98 points or 1.61 per cent. During the day, it zoomed 1,278.85 points or 1.72 per cent to reach its all-time intra-day high of 75,499.91. The index logged its biggest single-day gain since January 29.
The NSE Nifty inched closer to the 23,000 mark during the day. The 50-issue index went up by 369.85 points or 1.64 per cent to 22,967.65. During the day, it jumped 395.8 points or 1.75 per cent to 22,993.60 — its intra-day record peak.
“Nifty shrugged off some of the uncertainty related to election results and hit a new high today,” said Apurva Sheth, Head of Market Perspectives and Research, SAMCO Securities.
The results of the ongoing general elections will be declared on June 4. The sixth and last phases of polls will be held on May 25 and June 1 respectively.
Sheth also attributed the rally to a record dividend announced by RBI to the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi exuding confidence about winning the elections.
“There has been lot of uncertainty in the markets related to elections. The India VIX has more than doubled from a low of about 10 a few weeks ago to the current level of 21. In an interview published today, PM Modi was not only confident about winning the elections but also claimed that NDA has already crossed majority and is on track for a historic win,” Sheth added.
Investors’ wealth went up by Rs 4,28,602.18 crore with the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies reaching an all-time high of Rs 4,20,22,635.90 crore (USD 5.05 trillion). The market capitalisation of listed companies on the NSE also hit the USD 5 trillion mark at the close of trade on Thursday.
“The Nifty hitting a new record is the market’s message of political stability after the elections. The rally is healthy since it is led by fairly valued largecaps,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.
Among the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Maruti, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were the major gainers.
Sun Pharma, PowerGrid and NTPC were the laggards.
The Reserve Bank of India will pay a record Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government for the fiscal ended March 31, more than double of budgeted expectation, helping shore up revenue ahead of a new government taking office.
The RBI board, at its 608th meeting on Wednesday, approved the transfer of surplus, the central bank said in a statement.
“Today, there was enthusiasm in the equity market after the RBI approved a Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government. This indicates a better fiscal position and softer bond yields going forward.
“As a result of this positive move, we are seeing some short covering in the market. If the election outcome aligns with current market expectations, we expect Nifty to reach new highs in the first week of June,” said Neeraj Chadawar, Head – Fundamental and Quantitative Research, Axis Securities.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.58 per cent and smallcap index went up by 0.27 per cent.
Markets ended at a fresh all-time high amid short covering, improving investor’s sentiments towards the election outcome and healthy macros highlighted by the record dividend payout by RBI, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Among the indices, auto climbed 2.28 per cent, capital goods by 2.13 per cent, bankex by 1.98 per cent, financial services by 1.64 per cent, services by 1.63 per cent, teck by 1.42 per cent, consumer discretionary by 1.19 per cent and IT by 1.18 per cent.
Metal index emerged as the laggard.
“The Nifty index has surged to a record high after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a substantial Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government. This development is a significant macroeconomic positive for the market, with direct implications for the fiscal deficit and bond yields,” Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart Ltd, said.
Nifty rose the most in percentage terms in almost 6 months on May 23, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
In Asian markets, Tokyo settled in the green while Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading mostly in the green. Wall Street ended in negative territory on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.33 per cent to USD 82.17 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers on Thursday, buying equities worth Rs 4,670.95 crore on net basis, according to exchange data. PTI SUM CS SUM MR
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