Stock Market Today: After-Party On D-Street As Sensex Soars 1217 Points, Nifty, 401 Points - Factors

Indian stock markets rose sharply on Monday, continuing the momentum from their best session since early June, driven by positive sentiment following the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) landslide victory in the Maharashtra state elections. The NSE Nifty 50 surged by 401.65 points to 24,308 and the BSE Sensex is up by 1,217.78 points to 80,334.89.

Maharashtra Victory Boosts Market Sentiment

The recent win by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, which secured 233 out of the 288 seats in Maharashtra, the country’s financial hub, was seen as a major factor driving the market rally. The state had seen political instability in recent years, with frequent regime changes after the 2019 elections. Analysts believe that the clear mandate will bring stability to one of India’s most industrialized and economically important states.

Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO of IFA Global, noted that Friday’s market rally was partly driven by short-covering ahead of the election results, but the NDA’s strong win further fueled investor optimism. "The political instability in Maharashtra, which has been a drag on market sentiment, is now expected to subside, and markets will likely continue to rise," Goenka said.

Broad Market Gains

All 13 major sectors on the Nifty index saw gains, with state-owned banks seeing the largest increase, up by 4.5 per cent. Broader indices, such as small- and mid-cap stocks, also performed well, with both segments rising around 2 per cent.

Key Stocks in Focus

Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), the second heaviest-weighted stock on the Nifty 50, gained nearly 3% following an upgrade by Citi from "neutral" to "buy," citing a favorable risk-reward situation after a period of underperformance.

Meanwhile, shares of the Adani Group saw a bounce back, with all stocks in the conglomerate's portfolio, except for NDTV (NDTV.NS), rising on Monday. The Adani Group had recently faced a significant decline of around $28 billion in market value after allegations of bribery and fraud from U.S. authorities. The group has denied the allegations, calling them "baseless."

Zomato and Mahindra in the Spotlight

Zomato, the online food delivery platform, rose 6 per cent after it was selected to replace steelmaker JSW Steel (JSTL.NS) in the BSE Sensex index, effective from December 23 as part of the periodic reconstitution.

Mahindra and Mahindra gained 3 per cent, with Jefferies naming the auto company its top pick in the sector. Jefferies analysts stated that Mahindra offers a better growth opportunity than Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.NS), while trading at similar valuations.

The market's positive sentiment was fueled by both political stability and strong stock performances across multiple sectors, setting the stage for further gains as investors remain optimistic about India's economic outlook.