India's Election Results and US Plan to Guide Ships Stranded in Hormuz Strait Send Markets Higher

It is a big day for India. Election Results of 4 states and 1 UT would be announced today. The markets, too, would be watching out for these. The NSE Nifty 50 opened Monday’s trade 111 points or 0.46% higher at 24,108, while the BSE Sensex opened 343 points or 0.45% higher at 787,256. Along with the global cues, there will be some near-term impact of these results too. The political developments would be in focus. Assembly Election Results of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are going to be announced. While the incumbent Govt is expected to win in 3 states, West Bengal is set to be a close call. For the markets, Kotak Institutional Equities indicated that a BJP win in key states will be a near-term positive. The US President Donald Trump said that the US will launch an effort to “guide” stranded ships from the Hormuz Strait . He said that “Project Freedom” will begin on Monday morning in West Asia, and his representatives are having discussions with Iran. “I am fully aware that my Representatives are having very positive discussions with the Country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all,” Trump posted on his Truth Social. The Asian markets have opened on a cautious note on Monday morning as investors assess Donald Trump’s plan to “free” ships stranded in the Hormuz Strait. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 25,992, compared with the index’s last close of 25,776.53. Markets in Japan and China are closed for a public holiday. The US Futures remained almost flat on the back of the latest developments in West Asia. S&P 500 futures added 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were near flat. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 81 points, or about 0.2%. Prices fell after Trump said the US would lead an effort to guide ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and allies voted to increase their production quotas in the face of increasing supply disruptions due to the US-Israel war on Iran and the UAE’s leaving the organisation. This was the first meeting without OPEC. Brent oil futures for July declined 0.3% to $107.88 a barrel. Share price of Bharat Heavy Electricals moved higher on Monday, rising up to 9% after the company reported its Q4FY26 earning. The company’s core operating profit, or Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA), saw a sharp increase compared to last year. It rose to about Rs 1,754 crore from Rs 832 crore in the same period a year ago. At 1 PM, the Sensex was trading higher by 357.30 points, or 0.46%, at 77,270.80, while the Nifty gained 104.05 points, or 0.43%, to trade at 24,101.60. Vedanta shares saw a strong recovery in Monday trade, jumping over 6% to around Rs 288 and clawing back much of the decline seen after last week’s demerger-related price adjustment. The stock had been reset to about Rs 289.5 during a special pre-open session on Thursday after turning ex-demerger, following which it faced selling pressure and ended the day with a fall of over 6%. In the intraday trade, IT stocks remained under pressure, with Coforge leading the losses, down 2.85%, followed by TCS slipping 1.60%, LTIMindtree declining 1.41%, Infosys falling 0.71%, and Tech Mahindra easing 0.69%. At this hour, the markets are trading with strong gains, with the Sensex up 730.81 points or 0.95% at 77,644.31, while the Nifty is higher by 218.70 points or 0.91% at 24,216.25. The share price of Adani Ports and SEZ has risen 5% to an intra-day high of Rs 1,741 on the National Stock Exchange. The company has announced its operational performance for April 2026. Its cargo volumes grew 15% YoY and handled 43.1 million metric tonnes (MMT) of total cargo in April 2026, marking a 15% YoY increase. Adani Ports' container cargo rose 17% YoY and dry cargo increased 17% YoY. The Nifty Auto index is up over 1% in the intraday trade today. In the intraday trade, auto stocks saw buying interest, with Exide Industries leading the gains, up 4.12%, followed by Maruti rising 2.76%, Bajaj Auto gaining 2.29%, Eicher Motors climbing 1.53%. In the intraday trade, selling pressure was seen across key stocks, with Infosys down 0.29%, Tech Mahindra slipping 0.86%, TCS falling 1.11%, Bharti Airtel declining 1.18%, and Kotak Bank dropping 1.97%. Sanjeev Prasad, MD, Kotak Institutional Equities, in a recent report pointed out that “oil, geopolitics and valuations remain the binding constraints for markets.” According to him, markets are “likely to react positively in the near-term if exit polls, particularly the BJP’s projected breakthrough in West Bengal, are validated on May 4, 2026.” Furthermore, he noted, that the “durability of any rally will be tested quickly, as the trajectory of crude oil remains the single largest short-term risk variable.” In the early trade, buying interest was seen across select heavyweights, with Hindustan Unilever gaining 4.73%, Maruti Suzuki rising 3.61%, and Adani Ports up 2.84%. Meanwhile, Larsen & Toubro advanced 2.28%, Bajaj Finance climbed 1.90%, and Asian Paints added 1.87%. The domestic equity markets are surged to more than 1% after opening on a higher note. The Nifty 50 extended the gains to trade at 24,255, up 258 points or 1.08%. The 30-stock index rose 850 points or 1.11% to trade at 77,764. Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Shriram Finance, and Larsen & Toubro were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 in Monday;s early trade. Indian equity indices opened today's trade on a higher note as crude oil prices falls near $100 a barrel mark. The NSE Nifty 50 opened Monday's trade 111 points or 0.46% higher at 24,108, while the BSE Sensex opened 343 points or 0.45% higher at 787,256. "Today’s market action may be unduly influenced by the state election results with focus on West Bengal. But it is important to note that this will be only a very short-term sentimental impact. The real market trend will be guided by the crude oil prices, which, in turn, will be decided by the news and happenings in West Asia. President Trump’s declaration that the US will help and guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz has brought Brent crude down to around $108 levels. Also, there is a latest proposal from Iran to the US delivered through Pakistan," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. "Gift nifty is indicating a positive opening for the domestic markets. Technically, the Nifty index is hovering in a congestion range, with immediate support around the 23,800–23,550 spot levels and resistance placed around the 24,350–24,550 spot zones. A breakout in either direction from this range will dictate the next short-term move," said Vipin Kumar, Assistant Vice President of Technical Reserach at Globe Capital. The Sugar sector's stocks rose the most in Thursday’s trade, rising 2.32% in market capitalisation. Further, Ethanol stocks were followed by the Packaging sector stocks, which were further followed by the Infrastructure stocks. However, the Semiconductor sector stocks fell the most, dropping 12.84%. In India, the silver rate rose 5.45% at Rs 2.50 lakh per kilogram. On COMEX, Silver prices fell 0.18% on Monday to trade at $76.29 per troy ounce. Silver had surged to record highs in January amid geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, with heavy speculative buying pushing prices higher, but soon faced volatility. The rate for 24-carat gold today is Rs 1,51,560 per 10 grams. The price of gold has risen by 1.52% from yesterday. The 24 kt gold rate today in Delhi is Rs 1,51,300 per 10 grams. The 18-carat gold price today in India is Rs 1,13,670. On COMEX, the precious metal was trading at a price of Rs 4,609.80 an ounce, falling 0.75%. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar's value against a basket of six foreign currencies, was up 0.02% at 98.18. The index evaluates the strength or weakness of the US dollar in comparison to major currencies. The basket contains currencies such as the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, etc. The rupee depreciated 0.05% to close at 94.91 to the dollar on April 30. Foreign institutional investors (FII) were the net sellers of shares worth Rs 8,047.86 crore. On the other hand, the Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were the net buyers of shares worth Rs 3,487.10 crore on April 30, 2026, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.