Other railway stocks that gained were IRCON International (6.26%), RITES (3.52%), Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC, up 3%) and Texmaco Rail & Engineering (5.28%).
According to the average of 12 exit polls, NDA is seen as winning 367 seats this time, improving its 353 count in the 2019 elections. Even the lowest forecast is that of 316 seats. While the NDA may fall short of its ambitious ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’ target, traders see Nifty going beyond 24,000 this week.
Railways as a sector is expected to be one of the top beneficiaries of the Modi 3.0 government. Most stocks in this space have delivered multibagger returns over the last 12 months.
Even as the exit polls give BJP a poll position, the final result is yet to come. Hong Kong brokerage CLSA said a favourable outcome would raise investor confidence in India’s economic growth. This could encourage investors to play this growth beyond Modi stocks, which are direct policy plays.While it is apparent now that BJP/NDA has indeed secured a simple majority, this should calm investor nerves and Nomura in a note said that this scenario would largely ensure policy continuity, enable a sustained focus on capex while consolidating fiscal finances, support macro-financial stability and a focus on inclusive growth. Given its higher seat share in the lower house, and rising seats in the upper house, the government may focus on the more politically contentious reforms around the factors of production including land, labour, and capital.After the exit polls, it was expected that when markets resume trading, bulls will be unleashed. Headline index Nifty hit a fresh lifetime high of 23,338.70, gaining over 800 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex spiked 2778 points, scaling a new peak of 76,738.89.
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