Nirmala Sitharaman on stock exchanges: “I don’t want unstable governments, what matters for investors is predictable policy”

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a clear mandate for the BJP-led NDA government will be good news for the stock market8 ahead of the Lok Sabha election results scheduled for June 4. This could really go up in the event of a “solid bull market,” she told CNN-News18, adding: “It will indicate stability, and that will be good news for the stock market… and that’s why it can really go up… it will be a solid bull market then.”

This comes after benchmark indices Nifty50 and Sensex touched record highs in recent days, supported by macroeconomic factors and the expectation of a clear mandate for the BJP-led NDA government.

She said: “Indian stock markets certainly have a lot to celebrate… and they have been showing it over the last six to eight months… the markets also have their own wisdom in seeing what will make the economy stable and predictable in a way, given the minimum level of uncertainty, and they also want the government to be stable. They do not want unstable governments, which are the normal product of coalition governments.”

Stock market uncertainty is highly likely only if a one-majority government is not expected to be formed, she said.

The Finance Minister said, “In the last two elections, Indians have seen that giving a single majority to Prime Minister Modi… and as a result, there is a stable government… which provides predictable policies, predictable and consistent paths, frameworks… all of this makes a difference for the stock market.”