MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tanked over 5 per cent in late morning trade on Tuesday as the initial trend showed BJP winning a lesser number of seats than predicted in exit polls.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 3,311.87 points or 4.33 per cent to 73,156.91. The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,102.55 points or 4.73 per cent to 22,161.35.
Soon after the BSE benchmark dived 4,131.44 points or 5.40 per cent to 72,337.34, and the Nifty slumped 1,263.3 points or 5.43 per cent to 22,000.60.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, State Bank of India tanked over 10 per cent, while Power Grid and NTPC plunged nearly 10 per cent.
Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were the other big laggards.
The BJP-led NDA on Tuesday was leading in 280 seats to cross the majority in trends available for 528 seats, while the Congress also crossed the 100-mark in terms of leads, the Election Commission data showed.
The BJP was ahead in 234 seats at 10:30 am and won the Surat seat in Gujarat uncontested.
The Congress-led INDIA bloc was leading in 200 seats, a performance that appeared much better than what was predicted in the exit polls.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 6,850.76 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were trading lower while Hong Kong traded with gains.
US markets ended on a mixed note on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.82 per cent to USD 77.72 a barrel.
Markets jumped sharply on Monday after exit polls predicted a massive win for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls.
The BSE benchmark soared by 2,507.47 points or 3.39 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 76,468.78 on Monday, marking its biggest single-day gain in three years. During the day, the barometer jumped 2,777.58 points or 3.75 per cent to hit a record intra-day peak of 76,738.89.
The NSE Nifty climbed 733.20 points or 3.25 per cent to finish at 23,263.90. During the day, it soared 808 points or 3.58 per cent to hit a fresh intra-day all-time high of 23,338.70.
Meanwhile, the rupee plunged 26 paise to 83.40 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as initial counting for the Lok Sabha elections indicated a mixed trend.
A weak trend in domestic equity markets also dented sentiments in early deals, forex traders said.
According to television reports, the BJP-led NDA surged ahead with leads in more than 200 parliamentary seats out of 350 for which trends were available, with the opposition INDIA bloc ahead in 120.
Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections began on Tuesday morning across states and Union Territories.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 83.25 and lost further ground to trade at 83.40 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a fall of 26 paise from its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee closed at 83.14 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 104.02.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.61 per cent to USD 77.88 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market, benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tanked in early trade as initial counting for the Lok Sabha polls showed a mixed trend.
The 30-share index dropped 1,715.78 points to 74,753 in early trade. The NSE Nifty tumbled 539.1 points to 22,724.80.
Foreign investors were net buyers of Indian equities on Monday as they purchased shares worth Rs 6,850.76 crore on a net basis. FIIs bought shares worth Rs 23,451.26 crore and sold equities worth Rs 16,600.50 crore in the cash segment.
