Stock markets surge to historic highs as Modi-led alliance leads in election results

Indian stocks surged to historic highs on Thursday with the Sensex breaching 40,000 mark briefly for the first time with the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed for a back-to-back majority in the just-concluded general elections.

At 12 noon, the BSE S & P Sensex was up 373 points at 39,483 while the Nifty 50 gained 125 points to 11,863. At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices except FMCG and IT were in the positive zone.

Among stocks, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Limited was up over 7 per cent after the company announced it has obtained all requisite clearances and permissions to develop and operate a container terminal at Yangon Port in Myanmar.

Banking stocks too were buoyant. Yes Bank gained more than 6 per cent, IndusInd Bank was up 5 per cent and ICICI Bank up nearly 3 per cent.

The other prominent gainers were Zee Entertainment, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Power Grid.

However, those which lost were ITC, Vedanta, Hindalco and IT major Tata Consultancy Services.

The euphoria among major stocks reflected endorsement of Modi's policies in the past five years on various fronts -- especially on national security after serious skirmishes with Pakistan escalated in February, rural spending, emphasis on infrastructure upgradation, crackdown on black money and streamlining of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Foreign institutional investors too believe that a stable government will lead to decisive governance and continuing reforms in the world's fastest-growing economy.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded in the red as investor concerns grew over the escalating US-China trade tensions. Shares fell in the negative territory in Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul.