In a nutshell
🙌 Defence, railway stocks surge after BJP's state election victory
📈 For the 5th time in a row, RBI keeps interest rates unchanged at 6.50% to make sure inflation stays around 4%.
🛢️ U.S. crude oil falls below $70 a barrel, closing at the lowest level since June
🔫 India approves defence acquisition projects worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore
The big story: BJP rises & so do the stocks
After the big win for BJP in the recent state elections, defence and railway stocks saw a boost in Monday's trading. Companies like Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd hit their highest stock prices in a year, going up by 0.5% to 3%. Railway stocks, including Ircon International Ltd and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, also saw gains from 0.6% to 2%.
Analysts say the BJP has always given attention to railways and defence. The budget for defence in 2023–24 is now ₹5.94 lakh crore, up from ₹5.25 lakh crore in 2022–23. The railway budget also increased to ₹2.40 lakh crore for 2023–24, a big jump from ₹1.40 lakh crore in 2022–23.
If BJP wins the 2024 election
Experts predict even more money will be put into these sectors. The stock market reached record highs, showing people have confidence in the country's political stability after the state election.
Our expert opinion
The recent election outcome has a positive implication on sectors that reflect the ongoing build-out of infrastructure to propel India towards becoming a $40 trillion economy in the next 25 years. So sectors such as Defence, Railways, Smart Meters, Engineering and Capital Goods, Power, Renewable Energy and Infrastructure will continue to do very well over the next 5 years.
