Bulls and polls are the driving forces on Dalal Street these days. A good showing by the ruling NDA in the fourth round of polls held on Wednesday lifted the market mood on Thursday. The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 71.11 points or 1.2 pc to settle at 5,757.30 registering its highest closing in eight trading sessions. Sensex has gained three pc, or 172 points, in the last three days. The S&P CNX Nifty gained 22.90 points or 1.2 pc to settle at 1,832.80. The rally is being built on several hopes. “If elected to power, the NDA government would step up economic reforms and divestment. Third Front and others would create confusion,” said BSE dealer Pawan Dharnidharka. Every time the exit polls indicated good showing of NDA, the markets surged. On the other hand, it tanked by over 200 points when the exit polls held after the third round held on April 26 showed that NDA was losing ground in elections. On Thursday, after opening with an upward gap of 64 points to 5,750, the Sensex failed to register major gains during the course of the trading session and it remained range-bound moving in a 34 points range between a high of 5,772.64 and low of 5,739.26. The latest round of exit polls after Wednesday’s elections showed that NDA was gaining ground in elections. Four exit polls showed on Wednesday that the NDA would get between 245-268 seats - just short of majority. At the other end of the spectrum, Star News projected 270 to 282 seats for NDA. The NDTV exit poll has pointed a virtual sweep for the BJP in Wednesday’s polling which included BJP stronghold states like Rajasthan and MP. It has predicted NDA to win 55 out of the 83 seats in the fourth phase. Betting on improved prospects of NDA by opinion polls held just before the Wednesday’s polls, the market had already staged a rally. Sensex rose 101.20 points in two trading sessions to settle at 5,686.19 on Wednesday (May 5) from a closing of 5,584.99 on Monday (May 3). In three trading sessions, Sensex has risen 172.31 points or 3 pc at 5,757.30. “Strong March 2004 results by India Inc and hopes of a good monsoon have also provided support to the bourses. The latest economic data showed that core sector grew 7.1 pc in March 2004 boosted by higher output in the refinery and electricity sectors,” said a fund manager. Commodity stocks across sectors like cement, steel, aluminium, paper and steel surged today. Shares of public sector banks also rallied. Shares of heavyweights in Sensex gained as well further boosting the barometer. Bargain hunting materialised after a recent sharp fall in stocks in these sectors that was caused by concerns of a slowdown in Chinese demand.
