Mumbai: The stock markets experienced a big decline of over 4,000 points. This sudden drop came after a strong rally in the previous session. The early election results indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance was leading in more than 272 seats. However, the extent of their victory was uncertain, and their lead was narrower than what the exit polls had predicted.
The BSE Sensex witnessed a decrease of 6.71 percent or 5,602 points, reaching 71,002. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 fell by 6.89 percent or 1,634 points, reaching 12.15 am. This decline marks the largest single-day fall in the Indian markets since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
These indexes experienced their worst decline since March 2020, completely wiping out the gains made on Monday, as the exit polls had projected a two-thirds majority for the BJP-led alliance in the lower house.
Based on the initial trends, the NDA is currently leading in 298 seats, while the INDIA bloc is ahead in 225 seats. To form the government, a party or alliance needs to surpass the 272 mark in the 543-seat Lok Sabha assembly.
All sectors of the market were in the red, with bank stocks falling by 7.8%, realty dropping by 9.1%, infrastructure declining by 10.5%, and oil and gas stocks losing 11.7%. State-run companies and banks also experienced significant retreats of 17% and 16%, respectively.
Among the 30 companies listed on the Sensex, the biggest laggards were State Bank of India, Reliance, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, NTPC, and HDFC Bank.
Interestingly, Sun Pharma and Nestle were the only gainers in this market downturn.