Indian markets are up in opening trading on Friday: the Bombay Stock Exchange's 300share index, Sensex was up 279 points to trade at the 41,620 level, less than 300 points away from its pre-COVID levels.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange's wider 50-share index, the Nifty, was also up 68 points trading at 12,188. Nifty's pre-COVID, mid-January high was 12,355.
Stock observers believe that the Indian markets have been hovering at higher levels for the last three days with the prospects of Democratic candidate Joe Biden becoming the next President of the United States and rolling out a much-anticipated second COVID-19 stimulus package.
Market expert Ajay Bagga told Hindi business news channel CNBC Awaaz that the possibility of the stimulus promised by Biden is keeping the market buoyant.
Also, the possibility of a Republican-controlled Senate would mean that the Biden administration will not be able to push through high corporate taxes, as it had been intending, thereby giving a fillip to the markets, said Bagga.
The stocks that were up in the opening trade on the Indian markets included Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, NTPC, Bajaj Auto and Eicher Motors, among others.