The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Business | Turnaround year holds out hope
Turnaround year holds out hope
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai, Oct. 16: The sensex ended Samvat 2065 today on a confident note, wiping off the memories of Samvat 2064 that saw the BSE bellwether getting butchered by the global financial crisis.
Market watchers were awash with optimism about Samvat 2066 amid sentiments of recovering Indian and global economies.
On October 28 last year, the first day of Samvat 2065, the sensex had closed at 9008.08; today it finished at 17322.82, which is a gain of 92 per cent in a year.
During Samvat 2064, the benchmark index had plummeted to as low as the 7,600-level from a historic high of 21000 after a series of bank collapses — starting with Lehman Brothers — took a heavy toll on stock markets across the world.
In the year gone by, select sectoral indices have performed better than the sensex. While the BSE realty index rose nearly 134 per cent, the metal index shot up 243 per cent, capital goods by nearly 110 per cent and banks, 125 per cent.
Analysts, however, are advising caution — large-cap stocks have run up significantly in recent times, and investors should be careful in taking fresh positions, which could be done only after a correction.
“The markets are looking expensive at this point of time. Though we are clearly in the midst of a bull run, the markets have moved beyond their fundamentals. Therefore, investors, particularly those who have missed the recent rally, should wait for a correction and then enter,” Ambareesh Baliga, vice-president of Karvy Stock Broking, told The Telegraph.
Reflecting the positive mood among the investing community, the sensex today opened marginally higher at 17196.80.
After initially touching a low of 17126.55, the benchmark index bounced back to finish the day at 17322.82, a net gain of 0.74 per cent over yesterday’s close.
Realty and banking counters attracted heavy buying interest, while metal and automobile stocks fell on profit booking.
From the sensex pack, DLF gained 6.30 per cent, State Bank rose 5.30 per cent, TCS, 2.84 per cent, ICICI Bank, 2.41 per cent and Reliance Industries, 2.08 per cent.
Stocks in Asia were mixed today. Indices from Japan and Taiwan closed in the green, while China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea finished in the red. European markets such as France, Germany and the UK were up in early trading. US stock index futures also indicated a firm opening today.
Sustained heavy buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) boosted the market sentiment.
FIIs purchased shares nearly worth Rs 3,334 crore in the current week, including provisional data of October 15, while injecting over $13.38 billion in 2009 so far.
The broader 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange rebounded 33.30 points, or 0.65 per cent, to close at 5142.15 from its last close.
The index opened at 5108.65 and traded in a range of 5149.65 and 5093.20 before concluding at 5142.15, a rise of 33.30 points.
Both the BSE and NSE will open for an hour tomorrow between 1815 hrs and 1915 hrs for moorat trading.
Stock, commodities and futures markets will be closed on Monday on account of Bhai Dooj.
Among the losers, Sterlite Industries dropped 5.44 per cent, M&M, 2.28 per cent, Tata Steel, 1.44 per cent and ITC, 1.43 per cent.
Of the sectoral indices, BSE Realty flared up 152.24 points, or 3.36 per cent, and Bankex, 237.16 points, or 2.29 per cent, while BSE Auto dipped 84.24 points, or 1.26 per cent, and BSE Metal, 174.38 points, or 1.10 per cent.
Market breadth remained positive with 1,506 counters gaining ground against 1,264 ending with losses on the BSE.
The trading volume declined further to Rs 6,268.75 crore from Rs 6,538.56 crore on Thursday.
The State Bank of India remained the top traded share with a turnover of Rs 376.03 crore.