Indian markets crashed over 4400 points early Tuesday as neck to neck competition emerged between two major political fronts during the ongoing counting process for 2024 general elections in India. Cryptocurrencies also faced considerable volatility on Tuesday.
Counting of votes is going on for all 543 constituencies in India for the 2024 general elections in which incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting for a third term. His party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other alliance parties, collectively called National Democratic Alliance (NDA), are pitched against a conglomeration of opposition parties collectively called I.N.D.I.A.
Till 12 PM IST, there was neck-to-neck competition between the two political fronts as stock markets in India experienced a sharp decline on Tuesday as the Sensex plummeted by 4464 points, a 5.84% drop, closing just below 72,025, while the cryptocurrency market witnessed notable volatility.
The market’s early signal was already grim, with the Sensex down 183 points (0.24%) at 76,285.78 before the opening bell, and the Nifty dropping 84.40 Points (0.36%) to 23,179.50.
The Sensex’s nosedive sent shockwaves through the banking sector, dragging the nifty PSU Bank index down by 5.33% to 7,579.75. The major banks that took a hit, like the Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, and Punjab National Bank, all saw their shares tumble between 4.98% and 7.09%.
Meanwhile, in the world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin had a wild ride. Its price soared to $70,299 before falling back to $68.898. Trading volume for bitcoin skyrocketed by 43.20% hitting $30.47 billion. This volatility is partly due to market jitters over recent U.S. inflation data and the anticipation of upcoming economic reports.
Ethereum also saw its fair share of action. The price climbed to $3764.38 but later slipped to $3,847.75. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving form 19-b for Ethereum Spot ETFs stirred up trading activity, boosting its 24-hour volume by 20.02% to 13.93 billion.
Tether, on the other hand, played it cool. It stayed close to its usual value, touching $0.9998 and holding steady at $0.9994. Trading volume for Tether rose by 17.45% to 62.87 billion, showing that many traders are turning to stablecoins during these volatile times.
As counting undergoes for general elections in India, experts predict that the aftereffects of results will be far-reaching, including the web3 and blockchain technology sectors as well.
Also read : Modi Mandate 3.0 : Future of Blockchain in India
