Most Asia-Pacific markets were trading lower in early Tuesday with all eyes on India’s general election results, scheduled to be out later in the day.
The Nikkei 225 was 180.62 points, or 0.46% down at 38,742.41, and the KOSPI was 12.99 points, or 0.48% down at 2,669.53 as of 06:23 a.m.
After seven phases of polling, the Election Commission is preparing to announce the results of the Lok Sabha 2024 election on Tuesday. With the counting process underway, public sector enterprises, financials, infrastructure, railway and defence will be in focus.
US treasuries climbed as a weak manufacturing reading fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will have room to cut interest rates this year, Bloomberg said.
The S&P 500 rose 0.11% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.56% as of Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.30%.
Brent crude was trading 0.22% lower at $78.14 a barrel. Gold rose 0.01% to $2,351.02 an ounce.
The GIFT Nifty was trading 32 points, or 0.14% higher at 23,499.00 as of 06:26 a.m.
India’s key equity indices logged their best session in over three years as investors cheered exit polls, which projected victory for the Bhartiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, along with a better-than-expected GDP for the country. On Monday, both indices closed at record highs.
The NSE Nifty 50 closed 733.20 points, or 3.25%, higher at 23,263.90, and the S&P BSE Sensex gained 2,507.47 points, or 3.39%, to end at 76,468.70.
Overseas investors were net buyers of Indian equities on Monday. Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 6,850.8 crore—the highest in two months—while domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the 10th day and bought equities worth Rs 1,914 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.
The Indian currency strengthened by 32 paise to close at 83.14 against the US dollar.
Market Reaction To Exit Polls Better Than Expected, Says Analyst
