Exit Polls: Sensex soars 100 pts, Nifty50 shoots above 8,950-mark

The Indian benchmark indices opened on a higher note after various exit polls indicated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP with a clear majority mark of 202 in the 403-seat UP Assembly.

At 9.43 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was ruling at 29,004, up 75 points while the Nifty50 was trading at 8,953, up 26 points.

"As far as range for the forthcoming session is concerned, it remains unchanged at 8993 - 8891. However, directionally we continue with our positive stance and expect the index to give a breakout in the upwards direction quite soon," said an Angel Broking report.

Markets are said to be volatile in trade today, ahead of the 5-state assembly results.

"Today being the last day before the actual outcome, we would expect some volatility in the market," added the note.

Moreover, industrial production (IIP) data for January, scheduled to be released after market hours today, also influenced sentiments.

Brokers said that sustained capital inflows by foreign funds at the domestic bourses and widespread buying by retail investors after exit polls showed the BJP emerging as the single largest party in Uttar Pradesh as well as Goa and coming to power in Uttarakhand lifted the key indices.

The top gainers in early trade was led by Hero MotoCorp adding nearly 1.15 per cent to the bourse, followed by Infosys, Wipro and TCS.

The biggest laggard was Power Grid that fell over 1 per cent in morning trade.

Exit Polls

Exit Poll results for all 5 states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Punjab - that went for elections last month has suggested that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoyed a clear majority.

The BJP is ahead in 4 states out of five that are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, according to various Exit Poll results.

Crude Oil Prices

Crude prices inched up on Friday after dropping to a three-month low in the session before, pressured by concerns that a global supply glut is proving stubbornly persistent.

US nonfarm payrolls data

The nonfarm payrolls report for February is expected to show 190,000 jobs were added in the US private and public sectors in February. The employment figures are drawing particular interest as chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates several times this year could improve if the data underlines US economic strength.

Global Markets

Overnight gains on the US bourses lifted the trading sentiment, firming gains in the Asian markets.

Japan's Nikkei gained 1.33 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.04 per cent in early trade today. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, however, shed 0.10 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.01 per cent in yesterday's trade.

(With inputs from Agencies)