Sensex ends 1,200 points higher as exit polls signal BJP win in Uttar Pradesh

Sensex and Nifty closed higher today after exit polls signaled that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looked set to retain power in the key electoral battle of Uttar Pradesh. Sensex ended 1223 points higher at 54,647 and Nifty gained 331 points to 16,345.

This is the second straight session the Indian market has ended in the green amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 5.56 per cent. Power Grid, NTPC, Tata Steel and Nestle India were the only losers, declining up to 1.89 per cent.

Yogi Adityanath-led BJP is likely to win a second term in the Uttar Pradesh by a landslide, five exit polls showed. The sum of exit polls by India Today-Axis My India, C-Voter, Today's Chanakya, Jan ki Baat and Veto pointed to 260 seats for the BJP and its allies.

The contest was for 403 seats - the majority mark being 202. The Samajwadi Party is projected to come in second with 126 seats.

Share Market updates: Sensex zooms 1,200 points, Nifty ends above 16,300; Asian Paints, RIL top gainers

BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 530 points and 561 points, respectively. On the sectoral front, banking shares were the top gainers with the BSE bankex rising 669 points to 38,720.

Consumer durables and capital goods shares also gained with their BSE indices rising 652 points and 526 points, respectively.

BSE auto index too zoomed 637 points to 22,439. The market breadth was positive with 2,657 shares ending higher against 684 stocks in the red. 94 shares were unchanged.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 248.34 lakh crore against Rs 243.70 lakh crore market cap in the previous session.

Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities said, "Even though oil prices surged due to a US import embargo on Russian oil, Indian benchmark indices were off to a strong start today. Buying was seen across the BSE sectoral front, with stocks from the Energy, TECK, and IT counters attracting the most attention. The general market breadth was in favor of green today. European markets rebounded as buyers bought stocks that had been battered in the recent market selloff.

After Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced the country was no longer interested in NATO membership, investors bought beaten-down shares in the hopes of de-escalating the Russia-Ukraine war.

On the technical front, immediate support and resistance in Nifty 50 are 16100 and 16500 respectively. Bank Nifty immediate support and resistance are 33200 and 34500 respectively."

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 8,142 crore on March 8, according to NSE data.

Meanwhile, the rupee rebounded 44 paise to close at 76.56 against the US dollar.  On Tuesday, the Indian currency rose 3 paise to close at 76.90, tracking positive domestic equities and a weak dollar.

On Tuesday, the Indian equity market snapped four sessions of losing streak amid mixed global cues. Sensex ended 581 points higher at 53,424 and Nifty jumped 150 points to 16,013. Sun Pharma, TCS, NTPC, Wipro and Tech Mahindra were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.99 per cent.

Tata Steel, PowerGrid and Titan were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 1.73%. Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 24 ended higher.

Global markets

Futures for Wall Street's S&P 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1% after the market ended lower on Tuesday. In  Europe, the FTSE 100 in London jumped 2.1% to 7,107.28. Frankfurt's DAX surged 3.7% to 13,302.51 and CAC 40 in Paris jumped 3.5% to 6,174.29.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 sank 0.7% on Tuesday for its fourth straight daily decline. It is now 13.1% below its latest record high.

The Dow lost 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite retreated 0.3%. On Monday, it closed 20% below its record high.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.1% to 3,256.39. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo slid 0.3% to 24,717.53. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.7% to 20,627.71 after being down 2.2% at one point.