Markets At Record High As Counting For Lok Sabha Polls Set To Begin

SINGAPORE: The stock futures edged higher and the rupee was steady as votes in the world’s largest election were set to be counted today, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to score a decisive mandate and a rare third term.

Exit polls have projected a big win for PM Modi, leading to markets soaring to record highs on Monday as investors were buoyed by expectations of sustained economic growth.

The voting results trends will start from 8 am.

On Tuesday, NIFTY 50 index futures rose 0.21% in early trade, according to NSE International Exchange data, and was looking at another record high open.

The Nifty index ended up 3.25% at 23,263.90 points on Monday after touching a record high of 23,338.70 in the wake of exit polls.

The BSE index closed up 3.39% at 76,468.78 points on Monday, just off its lifetime peak of 76,738.89 hit earlier.

Early trade in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market pointed to a slightly firmer rupee on Tuesday. In the spot NDF market the rupee traded at 83.1000 to the dollar, against a close of 83.1425 in the spot foreign exchange market on Monday. The rupee rose 0.4% on Monday.

“Markets have rallied around the expected election results and it is very hard not to be an optimist on India,” said Vivek Bhutoria, portfolio manager for emerging market equities at Federated Hermes.

“Policies are being put in place to attract investments and the realignment of the global supply chain is going to benefit India over time. We are already starting to see some benefits in terms of electronics and chemical exports.”