Stock markets hits record high in India

India's stock exchange markets, BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) Sensex and Nifty hit a record high on Friday posting their biggest daily gains since September.

The general impression is that the Nifty hitting high is due to the hope that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win a majority in elections ending next week, sending blue-chips sharply higher.

Polls have consistently shown the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ahead, raising expectations the opposition party, which is seen by markets as being more investor- and business-friendly, will either win or come close to an outright majority.

"It's not global queue, nothing to do with economy, no big bang announcements, its simply one factor and that's Modi factor. As we are drawing closer to the results outcome dates, 16th the results will be out. Investors, more and more investors have feeling and they are thinking on the same lines that, Well, there's going to be a change of power and a new government will be formed by NDA (National Democratic Alliance) under the prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi," said a Market expert Sunil Shah.

The benchmark BSE Sensex closed 2.91 percent higher at 22,994.23 points. The index earlier gained as much as 3.15 percent to a record high of 23,048.49 points, surpassing a high of 22,939.31 points hit on April 25.

The broader Nifty ended 2.99 percent higher at 6,858.80 points. The index rose as much as 3.18 percent in trade, to hit a record high of 6,871.35 points, beating a previous life high of 6869.85 on April 25.

Gains were broad-based, with 27 out of 30 listed companies in the benchmark BSE Sensex posting gains.

Banking stocks were among the leaders, with the National Stock Exchange banking sub-index gaining as much as 5.5 percent to a record high.