Sensex, Nifty Modestly Higher In Early Trade
(RTTNews) - Indian shares were modestly higher in early trade on Wednesday after suffering heavy losses in the previous session amid concerns that a smaller majority will see Prime Minister Modi face more difficulty in doling out reforms and infrastructure spending.
A third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears certain with the NDA hovering around the 300 mark.
But analysts call the results a shock, because Modi's party lost at least 20 percent of its parliamentary seats, forcing him to rely on a coalition.
Tumbling oil prices and easing bond yields on hopes for interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year helped underpin investor sentiment to some extent.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 319 points, or 0.4 percent, at 72,398 while the broader NSE Nifty index was up 81 points, or 0.4 percent, at 21,965.
Among the prominent gainers, Asian Paints, Britannia Industries, Nestle India, Hero MotoCorp and Hindustan Unilever surged 3-5 percent.
On the losing side, Power Grid Corp, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Larsen & Toubro and Hindalco fell 2-5 percent.