Indian bourses soared in early trading on Tuesday as initial results in the election held in Karnataka state started to come in. Early returns indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was way ahead of the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) parties and could form a government on its own.
After opening 20 points down, the Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex gained over 400 points in early trade once election results started trickling in, Economic Times reported.
Robust buying in banking stocks coupled with metals, auto, oil and gas and infrastructure stocks, further lifted benchmark equity indices on Tuesday, the daily added.
The National Stock Exchange index Nifty also jumped 122.60 points, or 1.13%, to 10,929.20, Press Trust of India reported. The broader Nifty-50 index was also trading at 10,929.20, up 122.60 points, or 1.13%.
However, trading in Bombay had slipped back by the early afternoon.
The high-stakes battle for the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly ended on Saturday evening, with over 35 million voting in an election crucial for the ruling Congress party as well as the BJP and the JD (S).
The voter turnout this time (72.13%) was higher than 71.45% in 2013 and it is the highest since the 1957 assembly elections.
Karnataka state is home to software giants such as Infosys and Wipro, as well as leading e-commerce firm Flipkart and many startups.