After a dismal beginning to March, the Sensex reclaimed the 29,000-level on Monday as the bourses began to factor in a BJP victory in Uttar Pradesh.
A victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country’s most populous State is seen as cementing his bid for a second term in 2019.
The Sensex rose 215 points — 0.75 per cent — to close at 29,048.19, while the Nifty closed at 8,963.45.
The rising tide lifted the majority of index stocks, with Reliance Industries being the biggest gainer, closing 3.69 per cent higher at ₹1,304.90.
The broader market also benefited, with the BSE 500 rising 0.62 per cent and the Midcap and Smallcap indices moving up 0.57 and 0.37 per cent, respectively.
The Bank Nifty rose 0.82 per cent, closing at 20,663.65. Almost all sectoral indices, barring IT and pharma, contributed to the rally and posted decent gains.
FPIs bullish The sentiment was buoyed by foreign portfolio investors, who picked up net equity worth ₹564.15 crore, while domestic institutions sold net equity worth ₹481.96 crore. Retail investors on the BSE were net sellers for ₹29.07 crore.
“The sentiment was buoyant following the approval of the draft CGST Bill and the draft IGST Bill by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council. Global sentiment, on the other hand, bordered on caution as investors contemplated a rate rise by the US Federal Reserve and digested news that North Korea had fired multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast,” said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager – Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Shares of the Dredging Corporation of India surged more than 16.68 per cent intra-day on the bourses to a fresh 52-week high of ₹519.7 following reports that the government is looking to sell a 51 per cent stake in the company. The Centre has a total holding of 73.47 per cent in Dredging Corporation.