Sensex, Nifty end higher amid election results volatility

MUMBAI: Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Monday but pared early gains to close off the day’s highs, as weakness in IT and banking stocks weighed on sentiment amid volatility linked to ongoing election results.

The Sensex rose 356 points, or 0.46 per cent, to settle at 77,269.40, while the Nifty gained 121.75 points, or 0.51 per cent, to close at 24,119.30.

Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that from a derivatives perspective, the structure remains clearly defined.

“Strong put writing at the 24,000 and 23,800 levels indicates firm near-term support, while heavy call writing at 24,200–24,300 continues to cap the upside,” an analyst stated.

Adani Ports led the gainer pack on Sensex followed by Hindustan Unilever, Eternal and Maruti Suzuki India.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, IndiGO, ITC and Infosys were among the top losers on the same index.

Broader markets outperformed the frontline indices, with the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices rising 0.63 per cent and 0.70 per cent, respectively.

On the sectoral front, realty and metal stocks led the gains, while IT and PSU banking stocks lagged behind, capping the upside in benchmark indices.