NEW DELHI: Indian stock markets surged to record highs yesterday on hopes of a business-friendly government under Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi as polls showed him closing in on victory in the world’s biggest democracy.
All the forecasts showed Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies trouncing the ruling Congress party which has been in power for a decade, and most indicated they would seal a majority.
Foreign and domestic investors have few misgivings about his past, however, and appeared in no mood to heed the warnings about unreliable pollsters. The Bombay Stock Exchange index, also known as the Sensex, showed gains of 1.90 percent at a new high of 24,000.93 in late morning trade, surpassing Monday’s record peak of 23,572.88 points. AFP
