Indian shares plunged over 8 per cent on Tuesday, set for their worst day in four years and erasing their gains for 2024, as vote-counting trends showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance falling short of a predicted landslide victory.

Modi’s bloc looked set to secure a majority in early vote counting in the general election on Tuesday, but the numbers were well short of the landslide predicted in exit polls.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 7.2 per cent at 21,605 points as of 12:41 pm, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 6.6pc to 71,366.

The indexes fell as much as 8.5pc, poised for their worst session since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They had jumped over 3pc on Monday after exit polls projected that the BJP-led alliance will likely get a two-thirds majority in the lower house.

With the day’s losses, the benchmarks are down nearly 1pc so far this year.

TV channels showed the ruling National Democratic Alliance was ahead in nearly 300 seats. 272 seats is the minimum needed for a simple majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament.

The volatility index jumped to its highest since Feb 2022 at 31.71, after easing on Monday.

“Since exit........

© Dawn Business