BJP's win in Guj, Himachal recovers markets from loss, Sensex ends 139 pts up

Mumbai: The Sensex rallied 139 points on Monday on prospects that the BJP is set to retain power in Gujarat and elbow out the Congress in Himachal Pradesh.

According to Election Commission results and trends for the 182 seats in Gujarat, the BJP won 17 and was ahead in 84.

It needs 93 to form a majority government. The Congress won 15 and was leading in 61.

The BJP is all set to wrest power from the Congress in Himachal Pradesh as it won 8 seats and was leading in 37 others while the ruling party bagged four seats and was leading in 15.

The 30-share BSE index hit a high of 33,801.90 and settled up 138.71 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 33,601.68, its highest closing since November 29 when it had closed at 33,602.76.

The gauge gained 409.93 points in the previous two sessions after exit polls had predicted BJP win in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls.

The 50-share Nifty reclaimed the key 10,300-mark to close higher by 55.50 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 10,388.75, its highest closing since November 27. It moved between 10,074.80 and 10,443.55 intra-day.