Indian shares experienced significant declines on Tuesday as emerging trends indicated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha elections, contradicting earlier exit polls.
After over seven hours of vote counting, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared to be closing in on the 300-seat mark in the 543-member lower house of parliament. However, the BJP did not secure as large a victory as anticipated, raising concerns that a smaller majority might impede Prime Minister Modi's ability to implement reforms and increase infrastructure spending.
Exit polls released on Saturday had projected Narendra Modi's BJP winning more than 350 seats, with the NDA expected to secure between 360 and 400 seats.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plummeted 4,389.73 points, or 5.74 percent, to close at 72,079.05, after hitting a low of 70,234.43 earlier in the session. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty index dropped to an intraday low of 21,281.45 before ending the day down 1,379.40 points, or 5.93 percent, at 21,884.50.
Losses were led by Adani Group stocks, with Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports falling by 21.4 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Major declines were also seen in Power Grid Corp, Coal India, ONGC, Larsen & Toubro, SBI, and NTPC, which slumped between 12 and 16 percent. Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, and Tata Steel also reported losses of 7-9 percent.
In contrast, FMCG stocks saw gains from defensive buying, with Nestle India, Britannia Industries, and Hindustan Unilever surging 3-6 percent. Tata Consumer Products rose by 1.7 percent, and Hero MotoCorp advanced by 3.2 percent.
