Nifty, Sensex gain amid ongoing US election, experts noted volatility to continue

Mumbai: Indian stock markets opened with gains on Wednesday amid the ongoing US election voting, with volatility surging in markets around the world.

The Nifty 50 index gained 95 points or 0.39 percent to open at 24,308.75 points, while the BSE Sensex gained 295 points or 0.37 percent to open at 79,771.82 points.

Market experts noted that the US election is making markets volatile worldwide. The election outcome may take some time, which could further increase volatility, so investors should be cautious with their investments.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert told "US Election vote counting has started. Markets are reacting to every news flow, as they are primed to do. Election Day will turn into Election Night. The risk is, it could become Election Week or Weeks. With elevated volatility, markets will lurch from Trump Trades to Harris Trades, bursting through stop losses on both sides. Best to wait this out, at least for today".

He further added "The 7 Swing States are staying too close to call. Voting in some states will continue till 12 midnight ET US time. We are getting calls on winners in East Coast states already. Patience is the biggest virtue for investors today. Let a winner emerge, we will be back with analysis on what will work for India and what will not. For now, -wait" .

In the sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange, all sectors opened in the green except Nifty Consumer Durables. Nifty IT opened as the leader in gains with a surge of 0.86 percent, followed by Nifty Bank, up by 0.45 percent, and Nifty Auto, up by 0.51 percent.

In the Nifty 50 shares list, 38 stocks opened with gains while 12 declined in the opening session. Apollo Hospital and HCL Tech emerged as top gainers, while Titan and JSW Steel opened as the top losers in the Nifty 50 list.

In the quarterly financial results announcements today, Power Grid Corp of India, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power, Trident, Apollo Hospitals, and JK Laxmi Cement are some of the companies expected to announce their second-quarter performance.

In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged by more than 2 percent amid the ongoing US elections, Taiwan's Weighted index was also up by 1.21 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI index remained flat on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by more than 3 percent at the time of this report.