Stock benchmarks extend rally as Mahayuti wins Maharashtra Assembly polls

By Chiranjivi Chakraborty

 

Stock benchmarks in India surged on Monday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance secured a thumping victory in the nation’s wealthiest state of Maharashtra.

 

The NSE Nifty 50 Index climbed as much as 1.7 per cent to 24,312.50, set for its best two-day performance since early June. Stocks also got a leg up from gains in regional markets, sparked by a weak dollar and investor optimism that Scott Bessent’s appointment as Treasury Secretary under the Trump administration may lead to moderation of US Treasury yields and tariffs.

 

The decisive mandate provided a much-needed boost to equity bulls, who had been waiting for a catalyst after Indian stocks slid into correction territory earlier this month. The alliance’s victory ensures policy continuity in the state, home to India’s financial powerhouse of Mumbai, and several of the nation’s largest investments. 

 

Stock benchmarks in India surged on Monday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance secured a thumping victory in the nation’s wealthiest state of Maharashtra.

 

The NSE Nifty 50 Index climbed as much as 1.7 per cent to 24,312.50, set for its best two-day performance since early June. Stocks also got a leg up from gains in regional markets, sparked by a weak dollar and investor optimism that Scott Bessent’s appointment as Treasury Secretary under the Trump administration may lead to moderation of US Treasury yields and tariffs.

 

The decisive mandate provided a much-needed boost to equity bulls, who had been waiting for a catalyst after Indian stocks slid into correction territory earlier this month. The alliance’s victory ensures policy continuity in the state, home to India’s financial powerhouse of Mumbai, and several of the nation’s largest investments.

 

Even so, the Maharashtra election outcome is a shot in the arm for the embattled Adani Group, which has aligned its business strategies to the policy priorities of the Modi administration.

 

Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd.’s shares rallied as much as 4.1 per cent, as the conglomerate pushes ahead with the $3 billion redevelopment of one of Asia’s largest slum in Mumbai. Stocks of infrastructure companies, seen by investors as key beneficiaries of Modi’s policy agenda, also jumped, with a sector gauge rising 2.6 per cent.

 

“The political message from this election is huge and highly positive from the market perspective,” said V.K. Vijaykumar, strategist at Geojit Financial Services Ltd. The recent bout of short-covering in large caps will keep the market resilient, he said.