Indian shares surge as early trends show second-term for Modi

Indian shares surged to record highs on Thursday morning, as early trends showed prime minister Narendra Modi's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was way ahead of its main opposition United Progressive Alliance (UPA), as vote-counting began in the world's largest democracy.

Investor sentiment has been buoyant since exit polls were announced on Sunday, with both the NSE index and the BSE index gaining 3.7 per cent each the next session, a level last seen in 2014.

"We absolutely believe Nifty will cross 12,000 if NDA manages to secure a majority," said Amit Gupta, chief executive of brokerage firm TradingBells.

"However if this doesn't happen and there is a hung parliament, or UPA comes into power, we can expect to see a huge correction, downside movement up to 10,450."

The broader NSE index was up 1.43 per cent at 11,906.15 as of 0350 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index was 1.52 per cent higher at 39,706.36.

The NSE index rose 64.8 per cent during Modi's first term till Wednesday's close while the BSE index gained 63.6 per cent during the same period.

IndusInd Bank was the top percentage gainer on the NSE index, rising 5 per cent, while State Bank of India Ltd climbed 3.2 per cent higher.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd was 2 per cent higher while Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd climbed 2.5 per cent.

Only one stock was trading lower on the NSE index.