Sensex, Nifty Set For Gap-up Opening

(RTTNews) - Indian shares and the rupee are posed to climb at open on Monday after most of the exit polls predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return to power for a historic third term.

A summary of exit polls project the NDA could win between 355 and 380 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament.

Also, the ruling BJP swept the Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh by winning 46 out of 60 seats on Sunday.

There is also some cheer on the economic front as government data showed India's GDP growth surpassed all expectations and stood at 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter of FY24.

Positive global cues and foreign institutional investors turning net buyers in Indian equities on Friday after two consecutive days of sell-off may also help underpin investor sentiment.

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee will kick start its three-day meeting on Wednesday and a majority of economists expect no change in key rates.

Asian markets traded mostly higher this morning after a private survey showed China's manufacturing sector grew more than expected in May.

Gold edged up slightly on dollar weakness while oil traded higher as OPEC+ extended its production cuts well into 2025 but announced a plan to restore some production as early as October.

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Friday and Treasury yields eased after the Fed's preferred measure of inflation met estimates and posted the smallest increase this year at 2.7 percent in April, raising hopes for an interest rate cut by the end of the year.

Wage growth moderated, growth in spending by consumers weakened by more than economists expected and growth in incomes for Americans also slowed last month, easing investor woes surrounding inflation and interest rates.

The Dow surged 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.8 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower.

European stocks closed higher on Friday despite signs of accelerating inflation in the euro area.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent. The German DAX ended marginally higher, France's CAC 40 edged up 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose half a percent.