Indian stocks have worst day in 4 years as Modi’s hopes of a huge majority fade

Indian stocks plunged Tuesday as vote counting in the country’s election suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a landslide victory is at risk, raising doubts about his ability to push through more aggressive economic reforms.

Indian stocks plunged Tuesday as vote counting in the country’s election suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a landslide victory is at risk, raising doubts about his ability to push through more aggressive economic reforms. India’s benchmark Sensex index, which tracks 30 large companies, and the broader Nifty 50 index each closed down by nearly 6%. The worst daily drop for Indian stocks since 2020 came just 24 hours after both indexes hit record highs as weekend exit polls prompted experts to predict a resounding victory for Modi. The world’s biggest election concluded on Saturday. The 73-year-old ran on his economic record over the past 10 years, a period of robust growth for India. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was aiming to win a 400-seat supermajority in the 543-seat lower house of parliament, but preliminary results show the opposition Congress party is performing better than some analysts expected. A party or a coalition needs 272 seats to form a government. In India’s last election in 2019, the BJP won 303 seats. If the final results confirm that Modi has underperformed in the polls, key economic reforms may be put on the back burner.