Nifty hits 7900, Sensex rises over 100 pts; Tata Motors down

Moneycontrol Bureau9:55 am  Buzzing: Shares of Sun TV Network surged 11 percent intraday on Tuesday as most exit polls have predicted that the DMK-Congress alliance may win the state elections in Tamil Nadu. Chennai-based Sun TV owned by Kalanithi Maran (grandnephew of DMK President M Karunanidhi) is seen gaining high revenue growth when DMK is in power. In FY11 when DMK was in power, its ad revenue growth was at 23 percent which fell to -2 percent in FY12 when Jayalalitha became the Chief Minister. Thereafter, Sun TV's ad revenue has never touched double digit growth except in FY13 hitting 11 percent. However, in FY14 ad revenue growth was at 1.6 percent. In FY15, ad revenue growth was at 6.5 percent. 9:30 am Will exit polls help BJP in reform? Nomura says, "Currently, the NDA (BJP+) has 68 out of 243 seats in the Upper House (plus five nominated seats). Together these five states account for 51 seats in the Upper House, of which six will come up for re-election in 2016 (all in Tamil Nadu), six in 2017 (all in West Bengal) and eight in 2018 (West Bengal and Kerala). The BJP’s victory in Assam will not help, as none of the seats (seven in the Upper House) are up for re-election until 2019. However, its improved tally in West Bengal and Kerala should help (although it depends on BJP’s final share of seats). Overall, if the exit polls are accurate, then the state election results could marginally improve the BJP’s seat tally in the Upper House, but the government will need to continue to build a consensus to push through legislative reforms in the Upper House (since its seat share remains under 50 percent )."Don't miss: Modi magic! Sensex, Nifty jump 6-9% in 2 yrs but midcaps up 44%

The market has opened strong with the Nifty hitting 7900 cheering results of the exit polls. The 50-share index is up 46.05 points or 0.6 percent at 7906.80. The Sensex is up 147.05 points or 0.6 percent at 25800.28. About 550 shares have advanced, 166 shares declined, and 27 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Bharti Airtel are top gainers while Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Asian Paints are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher by 6 paise at 66.74 per dollar against previous close of 66.80.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The USD has been strengthening since last week against high beta commodity currencies and the Yen, as energy prices touch 6-month highs."

The dollar slipped against the euro and pound after a report showed that the US manufacturing industry continues to face headwinds.

The yen too weakened as risk appetite improved with the rise in oil prices and Japan, set to host a G7 meeting later this week, again signalled its willingness to intervene in the market to weaken its currency.

Asian markets advanced as energy plays rallied after rising oil prices spurred a banner session on Wall Street. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index tacked on 0.70 percent, likely boosted in part by a slightly weaker yen. The US dollar was fetching 109.03 yen at 8:06 a.m. SIN/HK time, up from levels as low as around 108.50 yen in the previous session.

Wall Street rallied sharply, juiced by a jump in Apple shares and gains from energy stocks that were backed by stronger oil prices.