Sensex, Nifty at record high as BJP heads for victory

Despite some profit booking in the afternoon trade, the stock markets remained at record highs as investors cheered results trend indicating BJP's clear victory in the general elections.
In the forex market, the rupee climbed to 11-month high of 58.62 against the US dollar amid lower demand for the American currency and heavy foreign fund inflows into the stock markets.
As result trends poured in this morning, the BSE Sensex climbed 1,470.03 points to an all-time high of 25,375.63.
However, profit-booking trimmed early gains and the Sensex was quoting 941.81 points, or 3.94 per cent higher at 24,847.41 at 1230 hrs.

The NSE's 50-share Nifty was trading up by 288.45 points, or 4.05 per cent, at 7,411.60, after breaching the psychological 7,500-mark to touch an intra-day peak of 7,563.50.
Tracking the extremely strong sentiment in the equity markets that recorded lifetime highs, as many as 220 stocks hit one-year highs in the morning trade on the BSE following election result trends.

Narendra Modi appears all set to be the next Prime Minister with BJP likely to get a majority on its own, wresting power from Congress which is on the path of recording its worst ever performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

Recording its best ever performance in its 34-year existence, the BJP on its own was leading in 276 seats, three more than the required half-way mark in the 543-member House, while its allies were ahead in 49 seats.
Among the 30-Sensex stocks -- SBI, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Sesa Sterlite, Reilance Industries, ONGC, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, BHEL, Larsen and Toubro, BHEL, ITC Ltd, Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Tata Power, Tata Steel and Bajaj Auto were the star performers.
The BSE banking index leading among the 13 BSE sectoral indices. It was up by 7.54 per cent to 17,507.28 and realty index rose 6.34 per cent, to 1,611.17.

The Sensex had surged over 1,500 points in the past four trading sessions after exit polls showed leads for the BJP-led NDA.