India Stocks Hit Record High on Election Optimism

Indian stock markets have risen to a record high after exit polls suggested the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies are on course to win the general election.

India’s main stock index, the Sensex, rose 1.7% to 23,941.32 points in early trade on Tuesday.

This follows a 2.4% gain on Monday ahead of the exit poll results.

Analysts said investors were hopeful that a BJP win could help reverse the slowdown in India’s economy.

Exit polls released by Indian media organisations on Monday evening showed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) well ahead in terms of predicted seat wins, and the governing Congress trailing badly.

However, exit polls are notoriously inaccurate in India, partly because of the size and complexity of the electorate – in the last two elections, they were inaccurate and over-estimated the BJP’s gains. Votes will be counted on 16 May.

Mr Modi has campaigned on the promises of economic growth amid widespread dissatisfaction over the slowing economy and high inflation in recent years.

One of the big criticisms of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was that it delayed the implementation of key reforms, seen by many as key to long-term growth.

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza