Stock Markets Celebrate BJP's 2-0 Poll Win With A Record High: 10 Points

The Sensex and Nifty surged to end at all-time closing highs as the BJP's win in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh state elections continued to boost sentiment while strength across global markets also lent support. "Benchmark indices edged higher after BJP's victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh raised hopes of continuous reforms in the coming months. Going ahead with assembly elections out of the way, focus will now shift to macros and earnings recovery," said Jayant Manglik of Religare Securities.The gains were broad-based, with all sectoral indices on the BSE, barring IT, ending in the green. The Sensex ended 235 points higher at 33,836 while Nifty settled at 10,463, up 74 points. The rupee also moved higher to close at 64.03 per dollar, against Monday's close of 64.24.

10 Things To Know About Sensex, Nifty Trade Today

1) The gains on Dalal Street were led by auto, metal, pharma and banking stocks. The BSE auto indices zoomed over 3 per cent.

2) Among the auto stocks, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors and Eicher Motors surged between 3 per cent and 5 per cent.

3) The broader markets saw sharper gains with BSE midcap and smallcap indices rising nearly 1.5 per cent.

4) According to analysts, global cues will mostly determine the trend in domestic markets in the near term. Jayant Manglik of Religare Securities said that after the announcement of state election results, "global cues will take over" in the absence of near-term triggers.

Global markets have been on an upward trend on hopes of passage of a US tax cut bill. The short-term trend of Nifty remains positive, according to HDFC Securities.

5) Sanjeev Zarbade of Kotak Securities said: "Central bank tightening and high oil prices would be the key risks" for Indian markets.

Third-quarter earnings of India Inc and the Union Budget will be key factors to watch over next couple of months, according to analysts. Infosys, India's second largest software services firm, will announce its earnings for the October-December quarter on January 12, kicking off the Q3 earnings season.

6) But worries on the macroeconomic front - such as inflation and fiscal deficit concerns - continue to weigh on Dalal Street, which could cap gains, say analysts. Retail inflation in November breached the RBI's medium-term target of 4 per cent, which could put pressure on it to raise policy rates in 2018.

7) Market participants don't rule out year-end profit-taking from foreign institutional investors. "Going forward outlook remains to be positive with focus on housing, cement, infrastructure & metal stocks. The structural bull market sentiment will continue, however some year-end profit taking by FIIs cannot be ruled out," said Anita Gandhi, whole-time director of Arihant Capital Markets.

8) Asian markets ended mostly higher today after a record-setting session on Wall Street on bets that US lawmakers would pass sweeping tax legislation.

9) The Wall Street hit record highs on Monday on growing optimism about lower corporate tax rates as the Republican tax bill moved closer to passage.

10) The bill would cut US corporate tax rates to 21 per cent from 35 per cent, which investors are betting will boost profits as well as trigger share buybacks and higher dividend payouts.