Markets end in green as Sensex gains 356 Points, Nifty tops 24,100 on global cues and election results

NEW DELHI: The stock markets closed in green as Indian benchmark indices sustained opening momentum to end the first trading session of May with gains. The BSE Sensex finished the day at 77,269.40 points, marking an increase of 355.90 points, or 0.46 per cent. The NSE Nifty 50 followed a similar trajectory, closing at 24,119.30 points, up by 121.75 points, or 0.51 per cent.

Top gainers on the Nifty included Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors, Reliance Industries, and Jio Financial. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dr. Reddy’s, ONGC, and TCS were among the top losers.

Among sectors, metal, realty, infrastructure, and pharma rose by about 0.5-1 per cent. In contrast, IT, media, and PSU banks ended in the red. The broader market stayed positive, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining around 0.5 per cent each.

At the time of filing this report on Monday, Asian markets exhibited a broadly positive trend, led by substantial gains in the KOSPI and Taiwan Weighted indices, which rose by 4.87 per cent and 4.37 per cent, respectively.

Other regional indices also performed well, with the Hang Seng climbing 1.19 per cent and the Nikkei 225 up 0.38 per cent. Modest growth was observed in Straits Times (0.24%), Jakarta Composite (0.22%), and Shanghai Composite (0.11%), while the SET Composite remained unchanged.

Performance in the US markets was mixed, as Dow Jones Futures slightly declined by 0.14 per cent, whereas the S&P 500 and Nasdaq showed positive movement with gains of 0.29 per cent and 0.89 per cent, respectively, during their most recent sessions.

In the commodities sector, energy saw an uptick with Brent Crude rising 1.43 per cent to USD 109.72 and Crude Oil increasing 1.03 per cent to USD 102.99. Meanwhile, Gold prices experienced a pullback, dropping 0.80 per cent to trade at USD 4,575.69.

Market participants said sentiment remained supported by positive global cues, while domestic factors such as election results would influence near-term movement.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, noted, “Investor sentiment remained supported by a favourable election outcome in West Bengal and a better-than-expected Q4 earnings, helping markets look past Middle East-related concerns.”

Nair added that intermittent profit booking continued amid geo-political uncertainty. “Intermittent profit booking persisted amid uncertainty surrounding the U.S. “Project Freedom” initiative to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. While the resolution path may take time, optimism around gradual progress continues. Crude prices holding below $110 are providing near-term comfort. Going ahead, market direction will hinge on geopolitical developments and oil price trends, given their impact on inflation, interest rates, the rupee, and corporate margins.” (ANI)