Choppy markets greeted the Bharatiya Janata Party's impressive performance in the Assembly elections, with the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex closing at 5,225.90 on Thursday, just 4 points higher than Wednesday's close.

Market sources said they were awaiting a word from the BJP leadership on the timing of the general elections.

"An early election will be welcome, but the longer it drags, the more will be the uncertainty in the market," a dealer at an institutional brokerage said.

Gul Tekchandani, chief investment officer, Sun F&C, said: "The sentiment has improved as the BJP's win is good news for the market. The undertone is bullish and foreign funds will look at this development positively as they will expect the current reforms to continue."

He added that early elections were unlikely as the BJP might allow the Congress to regroup, which would benefit it.

PVK Mohan, fund manager, IL&FS Mutual Fund, said: "In the short term, the rally should continue as the BJP's win is good news for the market, though we may see a bout of correction and consolidation before the general elections."

Foreign institution investment was not likely to stop as foreign funds were concerned with the fundamentals of the economy, which looked good, he added.