Exuding confidence of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s return to power for a third consecutive term, Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissed concerns around correction being neen in Indian stock markets and predicted a rally after the results are declared on June 4.
In conversation with NDTV, Shah advised against linking elections to the stock market but said that a stable government in power does pave the way for it to perform better. In a comment made in gest, Shah advised investors to “buy” before the results are announced on June 4, claiming that the markets would rally after the formation of a BJP government at the Centre.
“Stock market crashes should not be linked with elections, but even if such a rumour has been spread, I suggest you that buy (shares) before June 4. It (market) will shoot up,” he said.
Shah reiterated that the NDA would achieve its target of 400-plus seats and a stable government would be formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Therefore, the share market will certainly go up,” he claimed.
Stock markets tanked on Monday following heavy selloff by Foreign Institutional Investors in May, a development that some analysts have linked to uncertainty over the poll outcome. On Monday, the Sensex fell 742 points to 71,992 in early trade while the Nifty slipped 194 points to 21,861.
The crask has resulted in investors losing Rs 4.85 lakh crore since the last trading session on May 10. Early trade showed only 910 of the 3,431 stocks trading in greeen while over 150 stocks hit their lower cricuit.
In conversation with NDTV, Shah, however, dismissed the ongoing correction as rumours linking it to a possible poor performance by the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Shah also pointed out that bigger corrections in stock markets have been seen 16 times prior to Monday’s correction.
According to Shah’s self-sworn affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India during the filing of his nomination from Gandhinagar in Gujarat, the minister and his wife Sonal Shah cumulatively own over Rs 37.46 crore in stocks. While Shah has a stock portfolio valued at around Rs 17.46 crore, his wife also holds stocks worth around Rs 20 crore.
Shah’s personal stock portfolio reveals that his top 5 investments – HUL, MRF, Procter & Gamble Hygiene And Health Care, and ABB India – make up approximately one-third of his entire listed portfolio.