Nifty, Sensex open higher as U.S. election vote count drives investor sentiment
India’s benchmark indices rose on Wednesday as investors monitored the U.S. presidential election results, with Republican Donald Trump initially leading against Democrat Kamala Harris.
The Nifty index gained 95 points, or 0.39%, to open at 24,308.75, while the Sensex climbed 295 points, or 0.37%, to 79,771.82.
Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, said: “Vote counting in the U.S. has started, and markets are reacting to every news update, as expected. Election Day may extend into Election Night, and there is a risk it could stretch into Election Week or longer. With heightened volatility, markets will swing between ‘Trump Trades’ and ‘Harris Trades,’ hitting stop losses on both sides. It’s best to wait out the uncertainty, at least for today.”
Among sectors, all indices advanced except Nifty Consumer Durables. Nifty IT surged 0.86%, followed by Nifty Bank with a 0.45% gain, and Nifty Auto up by 0.51%.
In the Nifty 50, 38 stocks opened with gains, while 12 saw declines. Apollo Hospital and HCL Tech were the top gainers, whereas Titan and JSW Steel experienced the largest losses.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped over 2%, and Taiwan’s Weighted index rallied by 1.21%. However, South Korea’s KOSPI index remained flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped by more than 3%.
