Mumbai: The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, experienced a significant decline of over 5 percent during late morning trading on Tuesday, driven by initial electoral trends indicating a lower-than-anticipated seat count for the BJP compared to exit poll predictions.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted by 3,311.87 points, or 4.33 percent, to 73,156.91, while the NSE Nifty dropped 1,102.55 points, or 4.73 percent, to 22,161.35.
Subsequently, the BSE benchmark saw a steep decline of 4,131.44 points, or 5.40 percent, reaching 72,337.34, and the Nifty slumped by 1,263.3 points, or 5.43 percent, to 22,000.60.
Among the constituents of the Sensex, State Bank of India witnessed a decline of over 10 percent, alongside significant drops in Power Grid and NTPC, both nearly 10 percent down. Other major losers included Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, and Reliance Industries.
As per Election Commission data, the BJP-led NDA was leading in 280 seats out of trends available for 528 seats, securing a majority. Meanwhile, the Congress surpassed the 100-mark in terms of leads, with the BJP leading in 234 seats as of 10:30 am, having secured the Surat seat in Gujarat uncontested. The Congress-led INDIA bloc led in 200 seats, outperforming earlier exit poll predictions.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) made equity purchases amounting to Rs 6,850.76 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai reported declines, while Hong Kong registered gains.
In the US, markets closed with a mixed performance on Monday. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined by 0.82 percent to USD 77.72 per barrel.
Monday witnessed a sharp surge in the markets following exit polls forecasting a decisive victory for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections. The BSE benchmark surged by 2,507.47 points, or 3.39 percent, settling at a new closing peak of 76,468.78, marking its largest single-day gain in three years. Intraday, the index peaked at 76,738.89, rising by 2,777.58 points, or 3.75 percent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty climbed 733.20 points, or 3.25 percent, to end at 23,263.90, reaching an intraday high of 23,338.70, up by 808 points, or 3.58 percent.
