The benchmark Sensex closed over 132 points higher at 27,591.14 and the Nifty reclaimed the 8,500-mark as buying activity gathered momentum towards the fag-end on positive global sentiments, with investors expecting Hillary Clinton to emerge victorious in the US election.

Investors have tended to see Clinton as a more status quo candidate than her Republican rival Donald Trump, and view her as offering greater certainty and stability for markets.

Among BSE sectoral indices, auto index gained the most by 1.67 per cent, oil & gas 1.00 per cent, banking 0.83 per cent and PSU 0.45 per cent. On the other hand, healthcare index was down 1.23 per cent, FMCG 0.18 per cent and realty 0.18 per cent.

Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Motors (+6.49%), GAIL (+2.49%), Asian Paints (+1.82%), Power Grid (+1.67%) and ICICI Bank (+1.6%), while the major losers were Sun Pharma (-3.35%), Cipla (-1.74%), Maruti (-1.03%), Adani Ports (-0.94%) and NTPC (-0.71%).

Among the gainers, ICICI Bank Ltd rose as much as 3.14 per cent, after the lender on Monday reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by gains from a stake sale in a life insurance arm and lower tax expenses.

Tata Motors Ltd shares rallied as Credit Suisse has upgraded Tata Motors to “outperform” from "neutral” saying depreciation in sterling will drive "multiyear outperformance” in its shares, while naming the auto maker as its top pick among Indian autos.

Among the losers, the Nifty Pharma index was down 1 percent, after rising as much as 3.26 per cent in the previous session. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Cipla Ltd were among the biggest losers on the index.

Most Asian stock markets rose, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gaining 0.4 per cent.

“Given the big event tomorrow, I don't think we are going to see much of an excitement in the market (today),” said Gaurang Shah, vice president, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Global markets

Stocks edged up on Tuesday as world markets braced for the outcome of one of the most contentious US presidential elections in history, with trade largely driven by cautious expectations of a win for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

A report by SMC Global said: "Asian equities extended the last session’s rebound from a seven-week low and Mexico’s peso strengthened with opinion polls showing Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump as Americans prepare to cast their ballots in the US presidential election. Shares on Wall Street rallied on the eve of the US presidential election, as Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton's prospects brightened after the FBI said it would not press criminal charges against her over the use of a private e-mail server. Consumer credit in the US increased by a little more than expected in the month of September, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve. The Fed said consumer credit climbed by $19.3 billion in September after jumping by an upwardly revised $26.8 billion in August. Economists had expected credit to rise by $18.7 billion compared to the $25.9 billion increase that had been reported for the previous month."

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