Markets end at record highs; Sensex gains 300 points

Benchmark share indices ended at record closing highs for the third straight session as exit polls showed that the BJP-led NDA is set to form a stable government and set the reforms process in motion to stimulate growth.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 320 points at 23,871 after hitting a record high of 24,068.94 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 95 points at 7,109 after touching a record high of 7,172.35.

Foreign institutional investors have been net buyers in Indian equities to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore in the previous three sessions.

The rupee also gained sharply against the dollar after exit polls showed that the BJP-led NDA would form the government at the centre.

Further, the sharp gains in equities and foreign fund inflows also helped improve sentiment.

The rupee was trading higher at Rs 59.81 against the previous close of Rs 60.05.

Asian markets ended higher, shrugging off the events in Ukraine, tracking overnight gains in the US stock markets which saw both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ending at record highs.

Further, sharp gains in Indian equities with the reform-oriented BJP-led NDA set to form the government also helped improve sentiment.

The Nikkei ended up nearly 2%, Hang Seng gained 0.4% while Shanghai Composite ended down 0.1%.

The shares in Europe firmed up, tracking solid gains in US equities on Monday and driven by upbeat earnings from large corporates in the region.

The CAC-40 was up 0.2%, DAX rose 0.4% and FTSE was marginally down.

Power and Consumer Durables indices ended up 3% each leading the sectoral indices on the BSE. Other gainers include Bankex, Realty, Oil and Gas, Metal, Auto, FMCG and IT indices ended up 0.7-2.8% each.

Gains were led by capital goods, IT, oil and gas shares.

Capital goods shares were up on hopes that the growth focussed BJP-led NDA would unveil infrastrucutre reforms that would ultimately lead to new order inflows.

L&T ended up 1.6% after rising over 3% in early trades.

BHEL was the top Sensex gainer, ending up 10% at Rs 219 on reports that the Cabinet is likely to ratify the decision to divest 4.66% stake in the engineering major.

Among the index heavyweights, Reliance Ind ended up 3.1%, Infosys gained 2.8%, ONGC ended up 3.8% at Rs 372. ITC bounced back from lower levels to end up 0.6% at Rs 361.

Financials continue to head higher on hopes that credit growth would pick up after the BJP-led NDA forms the government. SBI and HDFC gained 1.5% each. Axis Bank and ICICI Bank ended up 0.2% each.

Auto shares were also among the top gainers led by Hero MotoCorp up 5.4%, followed by Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto.

Six Sensex stocks which ended lower include Dr Reddys Labs, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Hindalco and M&M.

Among other shares, Bank of Baroda gained nearly 4.5% to end at Rs 878 after the public sector bank announced a healthy set of Q4 numbers.

The bank reported an uptick of 12.5% in its net profit of Rs 1,157 crore compared to Rs 1,028 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Punjab National Bank ended down 4.1% at Rs 800 after the state-owned bank reported a 28.69% decline in net profit at Rs 806.35 crore for the quarter ended March 31, because of higher provisioning for bad loans.

The bank had registered a net profit of Rs 1,130.80 crore in the fourth quarter last fiscal.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories dipped 4% to end at Rs 2,611, in an otherwise firm market, after reporting a lower-than-expected 15.6% year on year (yoy) drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 482 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 (Q4FY14), mainly due to higher operating expenses.

The pharmaceutical company had reported profit of Rs 571 crore in the same quarter last year.

Finolex Industries ended down 2.2% at Rs 226 after reporting 29% year on year (yoy) decline in net profit at Rs 56 crore for the quarter fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014 (Q4), due to higher raw material and finance costs.

The plastic products maker had posted a profit of Rs 79 crore in the same quarter last year.

Torrent Cables ended up 6.5% at Rs 110 after board approved amalgamation of the company with Torrent Power.

The Gujarat-based Adani Group companies such as Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Adani Power were in focus and ended higher by up to 11% each, after exit polls showed that the BJP-led NDA would form the government at the centre.

Aurobindo Pharma surged 5% to end at Rs 620 after the company said the Andhra Pradesh High Court has approved the deal between the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Curepro Parenterals.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices ended up 1.4 - 1.7% each.

The market breadth was strong, with 1,621 gainers and 1,270 losers on the BSE.