Sensex up over 800 points in two sessions: Here's what's driving the rally

After months of consolidation, the domestic equity market seems to have gotten its mojo back as it has witnessed strong rally in the last two sessions. The S&P BSE Sensex has climbed 847 points or 2.3 per cent in the intra-day trade till Tuesday from March 8 closing level. The Nifty50 index has gained 269 points or 2.44 per cent.

The rally is broad-based as buying has emerged across all the sectors. The Nifty Bank index on Tuesday surpassed its all-time closing high of 28,320 hit on August 9, 2018 to hit a high of 28,363.80 in the intra-day trade.

Among stocks, shares of Reliance Industries (RIL), ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Titan Company and UPL, from the Nifty 50 index hit their respective record high on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after a rally in benchmark indices on back of strong foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflow. READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Here's a look at the top factors behind strong rally in the markets:

Hopes of Modi's comeback post general elections: Political pundits expect the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to come back to power. According to the CVoter opinion poll, BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to sweep a majority of parliamentary seats, Reuters reported. The coalition could win 264 seats in the election compared to 141 for the Congress party-led Opposition alliance. A total of 543 seats are up for grabs in the polls. Elections will begin on April 11 and continue till May 19. The counting will be held on May 23. The polls will be held in seven phases.

Catch-up in mid and small-cap stocks: After bleeding heavily during last 12-15 months, mid-and small-cap stocks are gaining traction again among investors. A lot of market experts have turned bullish on the segment, given the froth in the valuation has gone.

In a recent interaction with Business Standard, Chandresh Nigam, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Axis Mutual Fund, said: "We have seen increased flows from HNIs in the mid- and small-cap schemes in the last four-five days. Sophisticated investors are taking tactical calls on the mid- and small-cap categories. There has been sustained correction in some of these categories. Some wealthy investors see this as a good time to deploy their funds." CLICK HERE FOR HIS VIEWS

Heavy buying by FIIs: Foreign investors (FIIs) infused a total of Rs 3,810.6 crore in the domestic capital market on Monday, NSE data show. In the first five trading sessions of March, overseas investors have pumped in a net Rs 2,741 crore.  The positive change has been triggered by domestic as well as global factors and the trend is likely to continue for some more time.

Brokerage upgrades: Foreign brokerages such as HSBC, BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley have turned bullish on Indian equities despite the election-related uncertainty. In its recent report, HSBC for instance, has raised its weightage on India from ‘neutral’ to ‘overweight’ and remains bullish on financial, metal, and consumer discretionary sectors in the Indian context.

“Aside from the elections, the macro backdrop is looking better in 2019 than in 2018. Inflation is low, and our economists are now looking for a rate cut in April. We expect overall GDP (gross domestic product) growth to accelerate, possibly supported by reforms (such as GST) starting to bear fruit,” wrote Herald van der Linde, head of equity strategy for Asia Pacific at HSBC along with Devendra Joshi and Prerna Garg in a recent report. READ MORE HERE

Firm global cues: Asian shares rallied on Tuesday after the European Commission agreed to changes in a Brexit deal ahead of a vote in the British parliament on a divorce agreement. European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to additional assurances in an updated Brexit deal with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday, Reuters reported.

Chinese shares have been buoyed by investors' expectations of more stimulus to cushion any downturn. This apart, high chances of truce between the US and China on trade tariffs have also boosted the investor sentiment.

Dovish Fed statement: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently said the US central bank does "not feel any hurry" to change the level of interest rates again as it watches how a slowing global economy affects local conditions in the United States.