Markets: As MVA govt totters, Sensex regains 52.5k, Nifty tops 15.6k; all sectors rally
Mumbai: Political developments favoring the possibility of a BJP-led or supported government in Maharashtra, the US ruling out a recession in 2023, and the anti-Agnipath agitation losing steam, reflected on the bourses on Tuesday where the Sensex zoomed over 900 points, Nifty went past the 15,000 mark, as all sectoral indices also rallied.
Reports said global equities climbed for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, taking solace in US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s remarks that a recession in the United States is not “inevitable”. Bond yields and oil prices also continued to rally.
The S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 1,200 points intraday to hit a high of 52,799. The index, however, settled 934 points, or 1.81 percent, higher at 52,532. On the NSE, the Nifty50 closed at 15,639, up 289 points or 1.88 percent, after hitting a high of 15,707 intraday, the market reported.
Sulking indices of public sector banks (PSBs), metal, and energy (oil and gas) zoomed the most in Tuesday’s trade. Related indices advanced between 4 percent and 4.5 percent. Other sectoral indices, too, added up to 2 percent.
In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index added 2.4 percent, while the BSE SmallCap index edged 3 percent higher.
The market sentiment also got a leg up from the emerging political scenario in Maharashtra.
The ruling coalition, Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faced uncertainty on Tuesday after the alleged revolt of a senior Shiv Sena minister and around 20 MLAs who became incommunicado on Monday night and camped at a hotel in Surat.
Reports on Tuesday afternoon suggested that the MVA government, a coalition comprising the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Congress, tottered with at least 18 Sena MLAs, showing unhappiness with their government. They shifted to a Surat hotel in neighboring BJP-ruled Gujarat.
Senior Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde led these disgruntled MLAs.
Union Minister Narayan Rane welcomed the development, while Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of the Opposition and former BJP CM, was reported to have flown to New Delhi to discuss the next course of action.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray replaced Shinde with Ajay Chaudhary as the Shiv Sena Legislative Party leader, the reports said on Tuesday afternoon.
This political development came close on the heels of the election for 10 Legislative Council seats in Maharashtra on Monday. The main Opposition, BJP, received 134 votes for its five candidates who all won. Since the BJP has 106 MLAs and the support of another 12 Independents, the result showed cross-voting from the smaller parties, and from the MVA camp.
Apparently, these Shiv Sena MLAs are in touch with the BJP, which may try to dislodge the MVA government and install its own.
(VP)
