Markets: BJP’s landslide win fire up bourses; Adani shares shine

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: The world’s largest political party—Bharatiya Janata Party—not only retained its Madhya Pradesh stronghold but also wrested two other states—Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh—from its principal rival, Indian National Congress (INC), on Sunday, sending out a clear message that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would continue to lead the world’s largest democracy after the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP’s spectacular victory sent out this message of political stability and continuity, which augurs well for macroeconomics. It was reflected on the stock markets on Monday.

As soon as the bourses opened for the week, equity markets scaled fresh peaks in intraday trades on Monday.

Equity indices extended their winning streak for a fifth consecutive session amid positive investor sentiment following the BJP’s triumph.

Buoyed by robust macroeconomic data and consistent foreign fund inflows, the BSE Sensex surged by 2.05 percent, reaching 68,865.12, while the Nifty climbed 2.06 percent to hit an all-time high of 20,684.85.

Gainers included Eicher Motors, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, BPCL, and ICICI Bank, while HDFC Life, Britannia, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, and Wipro closed in negative territory. The BJP’s clear majority in key state elections further amplified the positive market sentiment, contributing to the indices’ impressive upward trajectory.

That the voters had rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s wild claims about the Adani Group also reflected on the bourses.

Adani group firms rallied in afternoon trade. Shares of Adani group firms continued to attract heavy demand in the afternoon trade on Monday, with Adani Green Energy trading higher by 8 percent.

The rally in all the 10 listed group companies mirrored the broader upswing in the domestic markets, fuelled by optimism regarding the BJP government’s returning to power in 2024.

The combined market capitalization of all the listed firms of Adani Group hit the Rs 12 lakh crore mark.

On the BSE, the scrip of Adani Green Energy surged 8 percent to Rs 1,108.65 apiece, flagship firm Adani Enterprises rallied 6.61 percent to Rs 2,518.55, and ACC bounced 6.35 percent to Rs 2,021 per share.

Adani Energy Solutions advanced 6.16 percent to Rs 908.65 per scrip and Ambuja Cements rose 6.06 percent to Rs 468.90 per piece. While Adani Power went up by 5.59 percent to Rs 464.80 apiece, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) gained 5.58 percent to Rs 873.75 per piece.

Also, shares of Adani Total Gas jumped 4.38 percent to Rs 731.95, NDTV climbed 4.13 percent to Rs 228.10 and Adani Wilmar moved 2.50 percent higher to Rs 348.95 per piece on the bourse.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index hit a new peak of 35,124 intraday, while the BSE SmallCap index registered a new record high of 41,222.  Both the indices ended near these levels, up 1.2 percent each.

Sectorally, financials led the charge with the Nifty PSU Bank index up 3.88 percent, the Nifty Bank, and Private Bank indices at 3.6 percent each, and the Nifty Financial Services index at 3.25 percent.