Sensex Falls As Markets Turn Cautious Ahead Of Bihar Exit Polls

Business

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Published: Thursday, November 5, 2015, 9:30 [IST]

Benchmark indices opened the day lower, as markets exercised a great deal of caution ahead of the final phase of Bihar elections.

Exit polls due at 6 pm today by the country's television channels would throw some light on which party could get a majority ahead of the counting on Nov 8.The Bihar polls are seen as crucial for the stock markets, as a NDA victory would push the government into further reforms.

The Sensex was trading with losses of 70 points at 26,482 points, while the Nifty was down 20 points at 8019 points, as markets were worried that an NDA defeat could push indices lower.

Pharma shares saw some selling pressure in early trade with Sun Pharma and Lupin leading the losses.
Other Nifty stocks that lost ground were Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel.

Shares in Ashok Leyland fell almost 3 per cent even after the company's profits almost doubled in the quarter ending June 30, 2015. IDBI Bank was in the limelight on reports that the government would not be averse to merging the bank with even private lenders.

Most of the other banking stocks were subdued in trade. Axis Bank, Canara Bank, Yes Bank and Bank of Baroda were among the early losers in trade.

Jain Irrigation was marginally up after bagging an order from the Maharashtra government. Asian markets were trading mixed. The Shanghai Composite saw a good jump of more than 2 per cent, while the Singapore Strait Times and the Korean Kospi fell.

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