New Delhi:
India’s stock market plunged more than 6,000 points today after a sharp rise the previous day. Early trends in vote counts show Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition leading by more than 272 seats, but the extent of its victory is unclear and the margin was smaller than exit polls had predicted.
The BSE Sensex was down 6.71 per cent, or 5,602 points, at 71,002 and the NSE Nifty 50 was down 6.89 per cent, or 1,634 points, at 12:15 am – the biggest single-day fall in Indian markets since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The index recorded its worst drop since March 2020, wiping out all of Monday’s gains after exit polls predicted the BJP-led coalition was likely to win a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.
As per initial trends, the NDA is currently leading with 298 seats while the INDIA bloc is leading with 225. To form the government, a party or alliance needs to win more than 272 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha.
All sectors were down: banking stocks fell 7.8%, real estate 9.1% and infrastructure 10.5%, while oil and gas stocks dropped 11.7%, and state-owned enterprises and banks fell 17% and 16%, respectively.
Among the 30 Sensex stocks, the biggest laggards were State Bank of India, Reliance, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, NTPC and HDFC Bank.
Sun Pharma and Nestle were the only two to rise.
“The market’s concern is whether the current numbers will hold or decline further. As (the current majority) is below market expectations, disappointment is likely to remain,” said Mayuresh Joshi, head of India equity research at William O’Neill & Co.
