Sensex swings 1000 points; Jaishankar, Shah try to allay investor concerns

The benchmark Sensex swung 1,000 points and ended the session marginally higher on Monday.  Two senior Union ministers’ statements on the regime and policy continuity also gave some reprieve to investors.

After rising 997 points from the day’s lows, the Sensex ended the session at 72,776, a gain of 112 points or 0.2 per cent. The Nifty rose 49 points to end the session at 22,104, a 0.2 per cent gain.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Min­ister S Jaishankar sepa­­rately on Monday said market turbulence caused by election jitters was transitory and that markets would bounce back after the results.

Speaking to a television channel, Shah said markets had fallen more steeply in the past, and it was unfair to attribute this to the elections. “Even if markets have corrected a bit on account of some rumours, I would suggest you buy as markets are going to shoot up after June 4,” said Shah. He declined to comment on whether Sensex would touch the 100,000 mark but said a stable government was good for markets.

“We are going to win 400 seats, and a stable government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership will come to power, and markets will rally,” said Shah.

Jaishankar, while addressing an event in NSE, said he was confident of the direction of the elections and that markets would become less turbulent as the results are closer.

“The exact number of seats people may debate, and in a democracy, they should also be debating it. But I’m sure that as round after round takes place, markets will also become less and less volatile. Markets will get a sense of where those numbers will end up, and I’m very confident that those numbers will be very good for us,” said Jaishankar.

The foreign minister said investors were looking for more sources of production to de-risk the global economy, and there would be a greater resolve to invest in India after the polls.

“The world doesn’t want a single geography of production. It is looking for more supply chains. The world is looking for more countries where something critical such as chips and semiconductors can be made because they pretty much control the rest of global production in every other sphere,” said Jaishankar.

Most Sensex gains were contributed by HDFC Bank and TCS, which rose 1.3 per cent, and ICICI Bank that gained 0.97 per cent. Their combined gains offset the losses in Tata Motors, which had dragged the Sensex. Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 4,499 crore, while their domestic counterparts were net buyers of Rs 3,563 crore. The India VIX gauge of market volatility rose 11 per cent and ended the session at 20.6 per cent, its highest level since October 3, 2022.

“FPI is selling quite high, weighing on investor minds and adding to the volatility. And the earnings haven't surpassed expectations. Markets could be turbulent for some more and then will take its due course,” said Andrew Holland, chief executive officer of Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies.

Going forward, the remainder of corporate earnings and macro data from the US and China will determine the market trajectory.

“Anticipated stability in banking majors and select heavyweights in sectors, such as IT and energy, may foster further upward movement, although breaching the 22,300-22,400 range could prove challenging. Given this scenario, participants are advised to adjust their positions cautiously and refrain from overly aggressive trading strategies,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP-research of Religare Broking.