India stocks slumped to lead Asia markets lower Tuesday, as the country started counting votes for its 2024 general election.
The world’s most populous country started counting votes at 8 a.m. local time, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi projected to win a rare third consecutive term as per the exit polls.
The Nifty 50 index was down 3.5% while BSE Sensex fell 1.5%, after the main stocks gauges in India hit record highs on Monday.
Over the weekend, local exit polls projected Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance winning a decisive majority in the lower house of the parliament.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.22%, while the broader Topix dipped 0.24%.
South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.47% and the smaller-cap Kosdaq reversed earlier declines to rise 0.8%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.31% higher, while the CSI 300 index added 0.4%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.19%.
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