Poll vault: Nifty hits record, Sensex at 2-yr peak on BJP win

The stunning election success of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh gave the market a rush of adrenaline as the Nifty today pulled off an all-time closing high of 9,087 and the Sensex raced to a 2-year high.
The 50-share NSE index ripped through the 9,100-mark to hit 9,122.75, an all-time intra-day high too.
The rupee flexed muscles, climbing to a 16-month high of 65.82, a huge gain of 78 paise. Despite a spike in February WPI inflation to 6.55 per cent, investors set aside all their caution and pumped in more money on hopes that the assembly poll win will make the government push through bold reforms.

A strong set of industrial output numbers for January provided the perfect backdrop to reap more dividends. IIP expanded 2.7 per cent year-on-year.
At one point, the 30-share blue-chip index rallied 615.70 points to hit a high of 29,561.93. In the end, it settled up 496.40 points, or 1.71 per cent, at 29,442.63 -- a level last seen on March 5, 2015.
The gauge had gained 44 points in the previous two sessions. Markets were shut yesterday for Holi.

The Nifty settled higher by 152.45 points, or 1.71 per cent, at a life-time high of 9,087, surpassing its previous record of 8,996.25 on March 3, 2015.

"The market started the day with a gap-up opening, triggered by the strong performance of the BJP in the recently held five state elections in India," said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager - Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
ICICI Bank was the best performer with 5.99 per cent gain. Support also came in from Hindustan Unilever (4.54 per cent), L&T (4.40 per cent), HDFC Ltd (3.69 per cent), Asian Paints (3.51 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (3.02 per cent) and Adani Ports (2.92 per cent).
Sun Pharma rose 3.61 per cent after the US health regulator proposed to lift the import alert on the company's Mohali (Punjab) manufacturing plant.

Foreign funds net purchased shares Rs 412.14 crore last Friday, as per the provisional figures. Expectations of more liquidity in bourses had a positive impact, traders said.
The BSE capital goods index had a field day, rising 3.06 per cent, followed by realty 2.57 per cent, consumer durables 2.40 per cent, bank 1.93 per cent and FMCG 1.60 per cent.
With the buying activity gathering momentum, second-line stocks continued their upward sprint. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rose 1.43 per cent and 1.19 per cent, respectively.
A good 26 Sensex stocks ended in the green while 5 others
turned red.

"Path for the Nifty will be driven by earnings growth trajectory in 2017-18, GST implementation and its teething issues on corporates on the domestic side. Global factors that matter are US Fed's stance on interest rates and the dollar's behaviour against emerging markets currencies," said Rakesh Tarway, Head of Research, Reliance Securities.
The market breadth turned positive as 1,704 shares ended higher, 1,125 lower while 216 ruled steady. The total turnover on BSE read Rs 4,677.92 crore, down from Rs 7,509.23 crore previously.