Bloodbath in stock market as BJP’s seat tally fails to match exit polls
The Newz Radar Network
The Indian stock markets witnessed a dramatic plunge on Tuesday (June 4, 2024), plummeting by over 4,000 points in response to early election results indicating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA not gaining the expected numbers. Despite the BJP’s lead, the victory margin appeared narrower than anticipated by exit polls, triggering widespread market turmoil.
The BSE Sensex concluded with a staggering 5.74% decline, shedding 4,389 points to settle at 72,079, while the NSE Nifty 50 registered a significant drop of 5.93%, losing 1,379 points by the end of trading. This marks the most substantial single-day downturn in Indian markets since the onset of the Covid pandemic.
The sharp decline wiped out all gains from the previous session, fuelled by exit poll projections suggesting a strong likelihood of the BJP-led alliance securing a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament. Early trends reveal the NDA leading on 298 seats, with the INDIA bloc ahead on 225 seats. However, to form the government, a party or alliance must surpass the 272 mark in the 543-seat Lok Sabha.
Across sectors, the market was engulfed in a sea of red, with bank stocks plummeting by 7.8%, realty sector witnessing a 9.1% decline, infrastructure stocks dropping by 10.5%, and oil and gas sectors experiencing an 11.7% loss. State-run companies and banks were hit particularly hard, with retreats of 17% and 16%, respectively. Among the 30 companies listed on the Sensex, major decliners included State Bank of India, Reliance, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, NTPC and HDFC Bank.
