Indian shares rose for a second straight session on Friday amid hopes the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win state elections in Gujarat beginning this weekend, with financials accounting for most of the gains. The broader NSE index closed up 0.97 percent at 10,265.65, rising 1.42 percent this week, its biggest since late October.
The benchmark BSE index ended 0.91 percent higher at 33,250.30. The index posted its biggest weekly gain since early November, climbing 1.27 percent this week. The election in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state is a key test for the BJP, ahead of general elections in 2019. The results will be out later this month.
According to polls, the BJP could win, but with a reduced majority - an outcome that would still soothe investors, who are hoping for more political stability and have largely welcomed Modi's reform agenda. "BJP is expected to win, but the seat count would be lower than what they were vocal about. If they do win, I think markets will take it positively," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president, research, SMC Global Securities.
The Nifty auto index climbed as much as 1.4 percent following media reports of automakers' plans to hike prices next month, which analysts expect would be positive for margins. Maruti Suzuki, among the top gainers on the NSE index, rose as much as 2.7 percent to hit an all-time high. Though media reported that the company currently did not have plans to raise prices, analysts expect the country's biggest carmaker to announce price hikes by the end of January.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.