US election results: Sensex rises 200 pts as Trump takes lead, Nifty tops 24,300; India VIX eases

US election results: Domestic stock indices climbed in early trade, while Chinese markets took a beating, as trends suggest the Republican candidate Donald Trump was leading the US elections with 198 electoral votes against the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris's 112. Most Asian markets were trading higher, with Japanese Nikkei rallying close to 3 per cent. Fear gauge India VIX eased, falling 2.97 per cent to 15.64.

"Dalal Street awaits the outcome of the tight US presidential election, with global markets watching closely for any potential upside. Technically, Nifty needs to close above 24,513 to confirm strength, though traders remain cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy statement on November 7," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Nifty hit a high of 24,314.80 and was later trading at 24,279.65, up 66.35 points or 0.27 per cent. The BSE Sensex traded at 79,688.74, up 212.11 points or 0.27 per cent. ICICI Bank Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd contributed most to the Sensex's rise. HCL Tech was up 1.86 per cent at Rs 1,806.20. It was followed by Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.45 per cent), Infosys (1.39 per cent), Sun Pharma (1.32 per cent), Bajaj Finance (1.23 per cent) and Bajaj Finserv (1.17 per cent).

A clarity on the results will be constructive to restrict volatility and return to fundamentals, said Anitha Rangan, Economist at Equirus.

"The correction or adjustment led by outflows seen in the last one month should therefore reverse. On a medium to longer term, positive outcomes should emerge from the constructive relations India has with both the US and Donald Trump. Currency adjustments can well be managed with the reserves India has built. The only caveat could be that the US rate cutting cycle could be slower than anticipated which could also translate into a shallow rate cutting cycle for India," Rangan said.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said the sharp rebound in the market yesterday indicated a halt to the downward trend witnessed during the last many days.

"The fact that the rebound is being led by fairly-valued and fundamentally strong large banking stocks is important and points to the possibility of the continuation of the trend. However, the poor earnings growth in Q2 and earnings downgrades for FY25 are headwinds that will constrain a sustained rally," he said.

The noise and action related to the US elections will last only for a few days, after which economic fundamentals will determine the direction of the market trend, he added.

Emkay Global had earlier in a note suggested that equity markets may temporarily rejoice the spillover of US equities rebound in case of a Red sweep.

"Not to mention, China equities would bleed due to increased market uncertainty and it could also be tactically positive for India on the FPI positioning and flows front. However, there will be challenges sustaining, due to earnings momentum and valuations, both of which are weak," Emkay said earlier.