EMERGING market stocks and currencies rose on Monday (20), with Indian assets cheering exit polls suggesting a victory for the ruling party in general elections, while the intensifying Sino-US trade war kept the pressure on Chinese equities.
Rebounding from last week's declines, MSCI's index of emerging market currencies and shares was up 0.09 per cent at 0821 GMT.
The rupee jumped one per cent to 69.53 per dollar and was on course to post its biggest one-day gain in five months, while stocks in Mumbai surged more than three per cent, set for their best intraday gain since the first quarter of 2016.
Exit polls showed incumbent Narendra Modi is likely to return to power with an even bigger majority in parliament after a mammoth general election that ended on Sunday (19).
"This ensures policy continuity and required stability. Hence it will attract long-term investors," said Rushabh Maru, currency and commodity analyst with Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
Samrat Dasgupta, a fund manager at Esquire Capital Investment Advisors warned that while a rally could be expected for the next few days, further upside - even if the outcome matches the polls - will be limited as people will wait to see what policies will be made by the new government as the economy passes through a rough patch.
China stocks fell after news that Google has suspended some business with Huawei following Washington's blacklisting of the Chinese telecoms giant last week.
The yuan, however, rose against a soft dollar helped by a firmer-than-expected midpoint and the central bank's pledge to keep the currency stable.
In Turkey, the lira erased early losses to trade 0.2 per cent higher as the dollar weakened, while stocks were flat.
As the country takes measures to help the struggling currency, fresh negativity hit the lira after president Tayyip Erdogan pressed ahead with the purchase of defence systems from Russia, further pressuring Turkey's fragile relations with the US.
The Russian rouble rose, in line with higher oil prices, while South Africa's rand climbed half a per cent.
Emerging European currencies were little changed against a slightly positive Euro.
A 1996 photo of rapper Tupac Shakur (L) and Marion "Suge" Knight is shown on screens during closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 31, 2026. Getty Images
A rescuer assists a resident through heavy mud following flash floods on August 27, 2026 in Trishuli, Nepal. A sudden flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River basin in northern Rasuwa on August 26, damaging settlements, roads and energy infrastructure as rescue teams searched for residents and foreign travellers reported out of contact. Hundreds were reported missing, as the death toll started to climb.Getty Images
Rescue personnel provide medical treatment to a child at an army rescue camp in Trishuli Batar, Nepal, on August 27, 2026. A sudden flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River basin in northern Rasuwa on August 26, damaging settlements, roads and energy infrastructure, as rescue teams searched for residents and foreign travellers reported out of contact. Hundreds were reported missing as the death toll began to climb. Getty Ima
Family members of missing flood victims react at the emergency ward of the Maharajgunj Medical Campus, part of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, on August 28, 2026 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Authorities said the flash floods were triggered after a mass of ice, mud and rock collapsed into a Himalayan river near the Nepal-China border, leaving hundreds dead or missing and causing widespread damage in affected districts. Authorities continued the gruelling search for victims, many buried under metres of mud, as both China and Nepal issued fresh flooding alerts.Getty Images