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Indian stocks need Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party to win more than 303 seats in the general election to extend their record rally, according to a Bloomberg News survey of market participants. A smaller majority for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party may lead to a drop of about 2% in the NSE Nifty 50 Index, with the rupee and sovereign bonds also expected to fall, according to a mean of forecast by 32 asset managers, strategists and dealers. However, a victory exceeding 303 seats — the party’s count in the 2019 polls — may result in gains of about 3% in the benchmark stock gauge, the survey showed. Winning by a landslide would give Modi the mandate needed to push through politically difficult reforms in land acquisition and labor that are seen as crucial for accelerating India’s economic growth. While investors still back Modi to win a third term, low voter turnout and reports of close contests in some areas have tempered their enthusiasm about his expected victory margin since elections began on April 19. 110521172“If he were not to win, that would create some uncertainty and put some pressure on valuation,” Henry Mallari-D’Auria, chief investment officer for global and emerging markets at Ariel Investments LLC, said in an interview. “At this time, there is little uncertainty about the outcome of this election.” Indian equities have risen to records, while the currency and bond markets are near their highest levels in over two months days ahead of the election results on June 4. Predictably, volatility has spiked in both the stock and rupee markets. The gauge of 30-day implied volatility on the National Stock Exchange Ltd. has more than doubled from a low in April, while the same in the one-month part of the dollar-rupee options curve has steadily risen since the election began. 110521206Meanwhile, global funds have pulled $2.9 billion from local shares this month. Indian equities have trailed peers in Asia this year as rich valuations of about 20 times 12-month forward earnings and elections jitters deter foreign investors.Still, some participants foresee stock benchmarks rallying at least 20% should Modi fulfill his promise of his party and its allies winning more than 400 seats. JM Financial Ltd., Emkay Investment Managers Ltd. and UBS Group AG expect the ruling alliance to win more than 300 seats. That said, UBS in a report last week warned that a change in government could see Indian equities “test pre-Modi” valuation of about 15 times one-year forward earnings. 110521252“The robust economic momentum combined with a larger global trade footprint by the PM suggest that on balance - a bigger majority versus elections five years ago,” said George Boubouras, managing director at K2 Asset Management Ltd. The Melbourne-based asset manager anticipates a “double-digit positive rally if BJP wins more than 400 seats.”

The Indian market is likely to trade lower on Wednesday tracking muted global cues.The Nifty future closed negative with losses of 0.25% at 22,925 levels on Tuesday. India VIX was up by 4.36% from 23.19 to 24.20 levels.On the Options front, the maximum Call OI is placed at 23,000 and then towards 23,200 strikes while the maximum Put OI is placed at 22,500 and then towards 22,700 strikes.Call writing is seen at 23,000 and then towards 23,100 strikes while minor Put writing is seen at 22,700 and then towards 22,800 strikes.“Options data suggests a broader trading range in between 22,500 to 23,300 zones while an immediate range in between 22,750 to 23,050 levels,” says Chandan Taparia, Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited.In the cash market, both FIIs and DIIs were net buyers on Tuesday to the tune of 65.57 cr and 3231.67 cr respectively. FIIs' Long short ratio for index futures has further improved to 53.96 as on a net basis, they bought 25,397 index futures.“For the May monthly series, OI PCR is at 0.80, and max pain is at 22,900 strikes. The zone of 22,730-22,780 will act as crucial support for the index. Any sustainable move below the level of 22,730 will lead to an extension of correction up to the level of 22,600 level,” says Sudeep Shah, Deputy Vice President and head of Technical and Derivative Research, SBI Securities.“While, on the upside, the zone of 22,950-23,000 level will act as crucial #resistance for the index. Any sustainable move above the level of 23,000 will lead to resuming its northward journey,” he said.We have collated a list of stocks from the F&O basket along with cash market from various experts for traders who have a short-term trading horizon:Expert: Ajit Nayak, Technical and Derivative Research Analyst at HDFC Securities told ETBureauCoromandel International: Buy| Target Rs 1367| Stop Loss Rs 1237CIE Automotive India: Buy| Target Rs 573| Stop Loss Rs 520Divi’s Laboratories: Buy| Target Rs 4628| Stop Loss Rs 4189Expert: Kunal Bothra, Market Expert told ETNowExide Industries: Buy| Target Rs 530| Stop Loss Rs 494Asian Paints: Buy| Target Rs 3100| Stop Loss Rs 2800CIE India: Buy| Target Rs 600| Stop Loss Rs 600(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Several neighborhoods in South Delhi will now receive water only once daily instead of twice, as part of a water rationing strategy announced by Water Minister Atishi on Tuesday. This decision affects areas like Greater Kailash, Lajpat Nagar, Panchsheel Park, Hauz Khas, Chittaranjan Park, and nearby locations. The change will remain in effect until the water supply situation improves. "I know that where water is being supplied twice a day, people will be troubled if it is cut off for once a day, but I appeal to all Delhiites that we should not think only about ourselves. We should think about everyone," minister Atishi said.North and South West Delhi, including Mehrauli and Chattarpur, are also facing significant water challenges this summer amid a prolonged heatwave in northwest India as temperature in outskirts of Delhi soared closer to 50 degrees. The situation has been exacerbated by Haryana's cessation of Yamuna water releases to Delhi since the beginning of May, the minister claimed. In the Delhi Jal Board's (DJB) summer bulletin on Tuesday, it was reported that the city's total water production was at 978 million gallons per day (MGD), with Wazirabad producing 110 MGD against a capacity of 131 MGD. Although there was a slight improvement from Monday's production of 969.32 MGD, Wazirabad's issues continue to impact the overall supply.Minister Atishi called for "collective responsibility," urging residents to avoid wasteful water use, such as washing vehicles with open pipes. She warned that if these voluntary measures are ineffective, the government might issue fines for water wastage in the coming days.Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva blamed the severe water shortage on the incompetence of the AAP government, pointing fingers at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Water Minister Atishi. Sachdeva criticized the government's failure to manage the water crisis .Delhi AAP govt blames HaryanaIn response, Minister Atishi accused Haryana of not releasing Delhi's share of water since May 1 and announced various measures, including water supply rationalization across the national capital. During a press conference, Atishi highlighted that many Delhi areas are struggling with water shortages and appealed to residents to use water sparingly. The Delhi government is in continuous discussions with Haryana to resolve the issue and if no progress is made soon, they may approach the Supreme Court, the minister said."Haryana has stopped release of Delhi's share of water. The water level at Wazirabad was 674.5 feet on May 1. This is the average level that should be maintained. Last year in April, May, and June, the minimum level was maintained at 674.5 feet," Atishi said.Providing data, Atishi noted that by May 8, Wazirabad's water level had decreased to 672 feet, and by May 20, it was at 671 feet, further declining to 669.8 feet on the day of the announcement. To cope with the shortage, borewells that previously operated for six to seven hours are now running for 14 hours, and the number of water tankers has been increased.

Nvidia's shares rallied around 6% to hit a record high on Tuesday, leaving the AI chipmaker's stock market value about $100 billion away from overtaking Apple in a major reshuffle of Wall street's biggest players. Last trading at $1,128, Nvidia's market capitalization reached $2.8 trillion, compared to a market value of $2.9 trillion for Apple, which is Wall Street's second-most valuable company after Microsoft. Its stock surged as much as 8% to $1,149.39 during the session, an intra-day record high. Apple's stock was down 0.2% in afternoon trading. Nvidia's shares have surged nearly 13% since it forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations last week and announced a stock split, which excited investors as they continue to bet on the AI poster child. "The market has been struggling to keep up with the company's ever improving growth trajectory. At a mid-thirties forward earnings multiple, this still doesn't feel like bubble territory," said Derren Nathan, head of equity analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown. Nvidia recently traded at 36 times its forward profit estimates, compared with 38 for Advanced Micro Devices and 21 for Intel, according to LSEG data. The company's shares have more than doubled so far this year after more than tripling last year. Nvidia, which has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, reported a five-fold jump in revenue at its data center segment last week as customers line up for their high-performance chips. Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon.com and other technology companies have been competing for a limited supply of Nvidia's high-end chips as they race to dominate AI computing. "Business is doing incredibly well, there are so many opportunities to keep growing, and the AI theme still has legs. When the song is that catchy, investors want to keep humming it all day long, said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell when asked about the stock's rally. Long considered a must-own stock on Wall Street, Apple has underperformed other Big Tech companies in recent months, falling around 2% this year as it struggles with weak iPhone demand and tough competition in China. Microsoft overtook Apple as the world's most valuable company earlier this year as it raced ahead of other tech firms due to gains made by early investments in artificial intelligence across its cloud services. Microsoft's shares were down 0.4% on Tuesday, giving it a market value of $3.1 trillion. Apple has also been slower in rolling out generative AI, which can generate human-like responses to written prompts, than rivals such as Microsoft and Google, which are weaving them into products.