Benchmark indices opened higher on May 4 as counting for assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry began at 8:00 AM.
As of 9:50 AM, the BSE Sensex jumped nearly 1,000 points, or 1.30 per cent, to hit an intraday high of 77,910. In tandem, the NSE Nifty 50 climbed 293 points, or 1.21 per cent, to touch 24,290 in early trade, signalling a strong start to the session.
Broader markets mirrored the benchmarks, as Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 traded up nearly 1 per cent. Nifty 500, which represents nearly 92 per cent of the total free-float market capitalisation of all NSE-listed stocks, was also up by 0.85 per cent. Nifty Microcap 250, which tracks the performance of the top 250 stocks beyond Nifty 500 constituents saw the strongest surge, rising over 1.50 per cent.
Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Hindustan Unilever surged the highest, rising over 4.50 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, and Adani Ports, which rose over 3 per cent each. Shriram Finance, Larsen & Toubro, and Bajaj Finance also gained over 2 per cent. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were the top laggards, weighing on the index.
Gains in financial heavyweights like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank helped lift the benchmarks, while Reliance Industries also rose by about 1 per cent.
Barring IT and media, all other sectoral indices were in green. Nifty Realty led the charge, gaining about 3 per cent, followed by Nifty FMCG, Nifty Metal, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Pharma, gaining between 1 per cent and 1.50 per cent.
