Edgy market realises folly

Mumbai: The surprised market had a knee-jerk reaction to the appointment of Nirmala Sitharaman as the new Finance Minister. As the portfolio of the Council of Ministers announced, the Sensex dropped  748.10 points abruptly from the day’s high of 40,122.34 before making a sharp recovery. The Nifty-50 also dropped 209.80 points from the day’s high of 12039.25, but later recovered to close at 11,922.80.

Market participants said investors were surprised by the unexpected face in the Finance Ministry but they soon got to know of the impressive credentials of the new FM in academics and in administration, which helped the market recover. The market was factoring Piyush Goyal as the new FM.

Ajay Kejriwal, President, Choice Brok-ing, said, “There seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction. Afterwards people realised she has a good background. Moreover, two key ministry’s of railways and infrastructure (road transport & highways) where reforms are needed have gone as per market expectations to Piyush Goyal and Nitin Gadkari.”

“The market is also happy that the Commerce & Industry Ministry has been given to Piyush Goyal,” Kejriwal said.

Amar Ambani, President & Research Head, Yes Securities, said: “Nirmala Sitha-raman is an excellent choice as Finance Minister… Besides having relevant qualifications as MA in Economics, she has played varied roles in corporate life, including work related to field of economics…She has a strong personality and seems like a task-master with an eye for detail; qualities that are much needed to bring sweeping change.”