Sensex, Nifty gain sharply: Factors behind today's stock market rise

Indian equity benchmarks rose sharply in Monday's trade, supported by gains in across all sectors. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack surged more than 1,350 points to top 80,450 level, while the broader NSE Nifty index moved around 450 points to trade above 24,350. Last checked, Sensex was up 1,261 points or 1.61 per cent at 80,378 and Nifty moved up 396 points or 1.66 per cent to 24,303.

Such was the rise in the domestic bourses that over Rs 8.6 lakh crore of BSE market capitalisation (m-cap) was generated. Buying interest in select heavyweights such as Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), State Bank of India (SBI), Airtel and Axis Bank lifted the indices higher. Investor wealth, as suggested by the BSE m-cap, rose Rs 8.65 lakh crore to Rs 441.37 lakh crore today compared with a valuation of Rs 432.71 lakh crore recorded yesterday.

Here's are the key factors behind today's rise:

NDA's Maharashtra win

The National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) victory in Maharashtra lifted investor sentiment. The NDA won 233 out of the total 288 seats in Maharashtra, while the opposition alliance secured victory in Jharkhand.

"This sharp upswing is assisted by the super NDA performance in Maharashtra. The political message from this election is huge and highly positive from the market perspective," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Adani stocks

Adani Group stocks regained strength today after remaining under pressure last week in the wake of bribery and fraud allegations from US authorities. The Indian conglomerate group has denied the allegations, calling them "baseless".

Global cues

On the global front, most Asian markets were seen trading higher. Japan's Nikkei index rose 1.17 per cent and South Korea's Kospi index was up 1.44 per cent.

Nifty outlook

"Today's bounce hints at a vertical rise with a swing target of 25,262. However, given the large gains of Friday, expect a slow down or a turn lower initially on entry into the 24,030-24,420 region. If dips thereof are held above 23,800, expect continued ascent, with intermediate challenges at 24,420-24,770 levels," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.