The Indian equity benchmarks rallied for second straight session on Wednesday a day ahead of results of state assembly elections of UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Punjab and Goa led by gains in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC and Bajaj Finance. Investor sentiment got a boost globally after a report suggested that Russia said 'some progress' being made in talks with Ukraine. The Sensex rose as much as 1,470 points and Nifty briefly traded above 17,400 mark at the day's highest level.
The Sensex surged 2.3 per cent or 1,223 points to close at 54,647 and Nifty 50 index climbed 332 points or 2.07 per cent to settle at 16,345.
Markets in Europe were trading on a strong note with Germany’s DAX up 5 per cent, England’s FTSE 100 up 2 per cent and France's CAC40 index climbing 4.71 per cent.
Back home, the markets gained momentum on the back of short covering after going into oversold zone, analysts said. Exit polls indicating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning in four out of five assembly elections also lifted investors' sentiment, they added.
"The UP election is considered important from the market perspective as it is a major state to define the political situation and it could have caused a major swing in the market if there was no big global event. Earlier, the market was a little doubtful about the majority of BJP in UP but now there is some confidence after exit polls. Market pundits are also not very enthusiastic about the UP election amid global concerns however they feel BJP will be able to gain a majority with lesser seats compared to the last election. The outcome of election results will have an impact for a day or two and we will see a positive reaction in the market if BJP comes in UP but if the global situation doesn't improve then we will see sell on rising in the market. If BJP doesn't come in UP then we will see a knee-jerk reaction in the market towards the 15500 level but after then the direction of the market will depend on the global situation," said Parth Nyati, Founder of Tradingo.
Buying was visible across sectors, barring a mild selling pressure in metal shares. Nifty Media index was top sectoral gainer, up 4 per cent. Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Pharma, PSU Bank, Realty and Healthcare indices also rose between 1-3 per cent.
Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices rose over 2 per cent each.
Asian Paints was the top Nifty gainer, the stock rose over 6 per cent to close at Rs 2,890. Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Ultratech Cement, and HDFC Bank also rose between 3-5 per cent
On the flipside, Shree Cement, ONGC, Power Grid, NTPC, Coal India, and Tata Steel were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 2,656 shares ended higher while 685 ended lower on the BSE.
