Sensex ends 132 points higher ahead of US election outcome

Markets gained momentum in late trade to end higher on Tuesday after the recent developments indicate that Hillary Clinton is most likely to emerge victorious in the US presidential elections.

The outcome of United States presidential elections of 2016, which will be held today, will have a bearing on global stocks. Presidential election will be held between Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump. The results are expected on the next day of elections.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 132 points higher to end at 24,591 and the Nifty50 gained 47 points to close at 8,544. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up between 0.2%-0.4%.

"Nifty remained in sync with the global markets as it jumped back towards 8,500. The immediate requisite would be a consecutive close above the pivotal of 8,520 which could turn the tables and acts as a crucial revival level for longs. Only a breach outside the range (8,630-8,400) could see a decisive directional move, until which, expect the gyration to continue," said Sacchitanand Uttekar, Equity Technical Analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities.

Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as world markets braced for the outcome of one of the most contentious US presidential elections in history, with most investors cautiously optimistic of a win by Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The Mexican peso, which strengthened as the perceived chances of an election victory by Republican Donald Trump has ebbed, retained its solid gains from Monday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4%. But Japan's Nikkei surrendered earlier gains to close flat, as the yen rose following Monday's losses.

Oil prices were stable on Tuesday as financial investors and traders were cautiously positioning themselves for a win by Hillary Clinton in the US presidential elections.

Back home, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that the Narendra Modi government will step up reforms to attract more investment and fill up the infrastructure deficit, even as he asserted there is a “great amount of impatience” on the growth front.

Among key stocks, Tata Motors surged over 6% on reports that a foreign brokerage has upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral earlier and revised target price on the stock to Rs 720 from Rs 510.

ICICI Bank was up 1.6% after the banks’ outstanding watch list for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Q2FY17) stood at Rs 32,490 crore down from Rs 44,000 crore at the start of the financial year.

Hindalco Industries ended flat after hitting Rs 172 on BSE, its highest level since December 2014, after the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Novelis Inc has reported good set of numbers for the second quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Q2FY17).

Engineers India (EIL) gained 4% after the state-owned company said that the board will meet on November 16, to consider a bonus issue.

Varun Beverages (VBL) moved higher to Rs 472 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day trade, bouncing back 13% from its intra-day low of Rs 417, after listing below issue price. Earlier, the stock listed at Rs 430, a 3.4% below its issue price of Rs 445 per share.

PNB Housing Finance rallied 9% on the BSE after the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equity shares worth of Rs 500 crore of the company through open market transaction.

Sutlej Textiles & Industries rallied 8% to Rs 870, also its record high on BSE, after the company posted a strong 58% year on year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 52 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Q2FY17).

KEI Industries moved higher to its 52-week high of Rs 135, up 9%, extending its Monday's 9% surge on BSE, after it reported 49% year on year (YoY) jump in net profit at Rs 22.90 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Q2FY17), on the back of strong operational performance.