The Indian equity market is reacting sharply to the latest political developments, swinging from optimism to pessimism. Indices are in a free fall downward spiral in today’s trade, as trends reveal that INDIA block has put up a better fight than anticipated and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA is unlikely to win with a huge margin. BSE Sensex and Nifty50 have plummeted almost 6%, a stark reversal from Monday's 3% gains driven by exit poll projections of a decisive NDA victory.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was tumbled 4,237.28 points or 5.54% to 72,229.63. The Nifty 50 index tanked 1,331.25 points or 5.72% to 21,932.65.

The broader market underperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index dropped 7.72% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slumped 6.03%.

The market breadth was skewed in favor of declines. On the BSE, 417 shares rose and 3,393 shares fell. A total of 90 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, soared 28.22% to 26.85.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index tumbled 8.73% to 985.75. The index surged 8.43% in the past two consecutive trading sessions.

Prestige Estates Projects (down 10.51%), DLF (down 9.68%), Brigade Enterprises (down 9.52%), Godrej Properties (down 9.5%), Sobha (down 7.44%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 6.87%), Oberoi Realty (down 6.71%), Phoenix Mills (down 6.15%), Macrotech Developers (down 5.69%) and Sunteck Realty (down 2.34%) declined.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal grew 1.27% to 7.035 as compared with previous close 6.947.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee is edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.5050, compared with its close of 83.1450 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2024 settlement rose 0.29% to Rs 71,935.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.10% to 104.24.

The United States 10-year bond yield fell 0.43% to 4.380.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for Aug 2024 settlement lost 91 cents or 1.16% to $ 77.45 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Wipro declined 1.73%. The company announced that it has appointed Bruno Schenk as the country head and managing director (MD) for Switzerland effective immediately.

Redington slipped 4.02%. The company said that its board has recommended a dividend of Rs 6.20 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2024, subject to the approval of shareholders.