Mumbai: The equity markets snapped their five-session losing streak amidst a rally in global stocks as the latest opinion polls in the US suggested a greater lead for Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election.
Mrs Clinton got the much-needed boost in a fiercely contested election after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Democrat nominee would not face criminal charges related to her personal email practices. The development triggered a relief rally in global markets.
Mirroring the trend in the overseas markets, the Sensex climbed 184.84 points or 0.68 per cent to end the day at 27,458.99 while the Nifty ended the day at 8,497.05, gaining 63.30 points or 0.75 per cent.
The rally was well supported by strong buying from foreign portfolio investors in frontline index heavyweights. According to the provisional data released by the stock exchanges, FPI’s bought shares worth Rs 311.18 crore.
While the shares of Lupin surged 6.93 per cent, ICICI Bank and SBI soared 3.36 per cent and 4.06 per cent respectively. “US is the largest economy in the world and whatever is going to happen in the US economy will have an impact on other countries. Even the political experts in the US are finding it difficult to predict who will ultimately win this presidential election.
“While the latest opinion polls have lifted sentiments, the bounce back that we saw in Indian markets was largely on account of short covering in the derivatives segment rather than fresh buying ahead of the election results,” said Dinesh Thakkar, chairman and MD at Angel Broking.
According to him, the markets would witness a knee-jerk reaction if the Republican nominee Donald Trump makes it to the white house. However Mr Thakkar said: “The correction will not last long. In the worst-case scenario, the markets could see a correction of about 5-6 per cent. This would be a short-term phenomenon. In the long term, the markets would start reacting domestic fundamentals, which is looking quite positive at the moment”.
Meanwhile, after five sessions of gains, gold prices today fell by Rs 300 per ten grams to crack below the 31,000-level and silver by Rs 450 to Rs 43,600 per kg at the bullion market on easing demand from jewellers coupled with weak global cues.
Sentiment took a hit after gold tumbled overseas amid positive developments on the US election front.
