Minutes after opening, the benchmark Sensex surged 1,305.97 points, or 10.7 per cent, to 13,479.39, triggering a two-hour pause in trading. Within seconds of trading resuming it vaulted to 14,272.63, triggering the shutdown for the rest of the day.

After month-long elections that ended on the weekend, The Congress Party unexpectedly captured 262 seats in India's 543-seat Parliament - one of the most crushing electoral victories in nearly two decades of fractious coalition politics.

The near collapse of India's once powerful communist parties - which lost more than half their parliamentary seats - paves the way for long-awaited reforms in insurance, pension funds, banking and retailing.

The Congress government may also sell some of its stakes in state-run oil, banking, and fertiliser companies.

The victory raised hopes of a revival in foreign direct investment and economic growth.

Angel Broking managing director Dinesh Thakkar said investors, many of whom had been sitting on cash, welcomed the end to uncertainty.

In their euphoria, Indian traders shrugged off news of weak company earnings from the region, which dragged other Asian markets down on Monday.

Despite the high sprits, even within India there are headwinds to change. Congress is unlikely to curtail costly social welfare programmes which have added to the budget deficit.

The global financial crisis has already slowed the pace of some reform, as Indian authorities look with fresh skepticism on the wisdom of US-style markets and regulation. -- AP