Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on October 24, dragged by losses in shares of bank and auto heavyweights.
Investor sentiment was roiled by trends of Maharashtra and Haryana assembly poll results. The ruling BJP was on course to win Maharashtra but Haryana was increasingly looking like a hung house.
“It’s not landslide victory for BJP, as expected. This would certainly impact the stock market in the short-term," said Shrikant Chouhan, SVP-Technical Research, Kotak Securities.
In the long run, the market would look at or would remain excited about steps towards reforms, such as addressing corporate issues and supporting PSUs like the railways, BSNL and MTNL, Chouhan said.
"The market always gives more weight to the reform process and how the government tackles major issues. Reforms would bring confidence to the market. On this ground, the government seems committed. Those who have missed the boat may come to invest in declines," he said.
Sameer Kalra, Founder, Target Investing, is also of the view that the BJP's performance in Maharashtra and Haryana disappointed the market.
"There is mild profit-taking because of BJP's not-so-impressive show in the assembly polls. However, it is a short-term impact," he Kalra.
Gaurav Dua, Head, Capital Market Strategy, Sharekhan, said there was some impact on the sentiment of investors but it will be short-lived.
"BJP's assembly poll performance will weigh on sentiment for the short-term. The earnings and reforms will remain the major trigger. Earnings, so far, have been mixed and it will have a stock-specific impact," Dua said.
However, some market experts said the assembly outcomes were not a significant trigger.
"I don't think the assembly election results have a bearing on the market. In fact, I see it better as it may push the government to work harder and push reforms more aggressively," said Pankaj Pandey, Head of Research, ICICI Securities.
G Chokkalingam, Founder of Equinomics Research & Advisory, also said the assembly election outcome was not a major trigger.
"The assembly poll outcome is not relevant at this juncture. The Central government has a lot of time to continue with reforms," Chokkalingam said.
Market observers said, the market, in the short-term, takes into consideration sentiments and news. In the long run, fundamentals and earnings are the keys.
"We don’t see the election results as any major impact on the market unless there are any other adverse situations. For the long-term, we are bullish due to the strong fundamentals and policies that are being implemented and are in pipeline,” said Pradeep Gupta, Co-Founder, Anand Rathi Group.
Sensex closed lower by 38.44 points or 0.10 percent at 39020.39, and the Nifty ended 21.50 points in the red at 11582.60.
Yes Bank, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, Infosys and Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the top losers in the Sensex index, while Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints and Tata Steel settled as the top gainers in the index.
"The market has been flattish during the week assessing the ongoing Q2 result which is marginally better than expected to date. Given the trading holiday, the volume has reduced, taking a conservative approach," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
"Going forward, weak crude oil prices, positive global sentiments and further reforms from the government are expected to provide positive momentum," he added.
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