India vs.The Rest

Reuters recently reported that India is the best performing market in Asia-Pac in 2014. See the link to the story here. Let's see how we are faring in comparison to our developed and emerging market peers.

Hat tip: The Reformed Broker
Click on the chart for bigger version.

Douglas Adams on our Reactions to Technology Over Time

Reminds me of a quote from Stewart Brand, editor of Whole Earth Catalog - "Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the stream roller, you’re part of the road."

Hat tip: Farnam Street

Weekly Market Commentary - May 12, 2014 - May 16, 2014

This week there was only one thing that moved the markets: Modi wave.  This chart below will tells us the performance of domestic stories vis-à-vis external ones since Narendra Modi was declared PM candidate from BJP. Nifty has surged 23% with domestics gaining 38% vs 9% gain in externals since that fateful day in September 2013.

Sensex ended this week up by 4.9% while Nifty was up by 5.0% and Midcap up by 5.8%

Monday - Sensex up by 2.4%, Nifty up by 2.3%, Midcap up by 1.0%
Markets continued to roll over as exit polls results indicated strong performance of BJP led coalition. Rally in stocks with domestic story speaks about the confidence in BJP led govt to revive investment climate. Rupee also hits its one-month high against the dollar as FIIs consolidated their position in expectation of a strong rally on the result day Friday.

Tuesday - Sensex up by 1.4%, Nifty up by 1.3%, Midcap up by 2.1%
BSE Sensex soared and touched its lifetime high of 24,068.94 as euphoria over expected BJP govt win continued. Domestic growth oriented stocks such as BHEL and ONGC rallied 10% and 4% respectively. Bank Nifty hit its record high.

Wednesday - Sensex down by 0.2%, Nifty flat, Midcap up by 1.6%
Market took a breather after rallying in three consecutive sessions as investors resort to book some profits ahead of result announcement on Friday. There was a brief rally in PSU banks after RBI appointed committee proposed that govt should divest its stake below 50%.

Thursday - Sensex up by 0.4%, Nifty up by 0.2%, Midcap down by 1.0%
Market saw some bullish momentum as investors took position ahead of result announcement day. Market is widely expecting NDA to get majority tomorrow and any tally less than 240 may spark some sell-off.

Friday - Sensex up by 0.9%, Nifty up by 1.1%, Midcap up by 2.1%
BSE Sensex and Nifty surged to record highs of 25,375.63 and 7,563.50 respectively as BJP delivered its best ever performance and recorded a win on 282 seats alone. As trends became clear, rupee also rallied against the dollar and touched its 11-month high. Sensex had a wild day with a swing of more than 1,500 points between high and low.

Weekly Market Commentary - May 5, 2014 - May 9, 2014

And Sensex does it again. Indian markets driven by huge expectations from the coming (hopefully) BJP govt got a major spurt when PM candidate Narendra Modi declared on prime time that his party will form the most stable and strong govt in Indian history after Rajiv Gandhi. You can watch the full interview here. Any party to get a clean majority needs to score atleast 272 seats in general elections. Many exit polls and election survey predicts that there are chances that BJP (or current form of NDA) will do better than that.

A stable and decisive govt at the centre will certainly raise hopes of Indian investors, as trillions of rupees worth of projects are gathering dust in various govt departments waiting for approvals. Any govt formation that will expedite project approvals, unshackle the invested capital and get new (or better) jobs for our aspiring citizens is certainly welcome by public and businesses alike.

Sensex ended this week up by 2.6% while Nifty was up by 2.4% and Midcap up by 1.6%

Monday - Sensex up by 0.2%, Nifty slightly up by 0.1%, Midcap flat
Markets recovered a little after continuously falling over past five sessions. Sentiment although remains bearish as regional shares falls on news that China's April PMI has contracted for fourth consecutive month.

Tuesday - Sensex up by 0.3%, Nifty up by 0.2%, Midcap up by 0.2%
Investors showed some confidence in Indian stocks as key benchmark indices rose to touch its week high. HSBC PMI index showed some improvement (48.5 in Apr vs. 47.5 in Mar) but still languished below 50 mark indicating contraction, not growth, keeping hopes of expansion in hiring activities at bay.

Wednesday - Sensex down by 0.8%, Nifty down by 0.9%, Midcap down by 0.2%
Sensex and Nifty plunged due to heavy selling in IT counters amid weak global cues and rupee hitting a month high against US dollar. Investors are keeping an eye on US Fed testimony in congress related to continuous decline in value of USD while continuously hoping that tensions in Ukraine do not escalate into a full-fledged war.

Thursday - Sensex up by 0.1%, Nifty up by 0.1%, Midcap down by 0.2%
Investors continued to stay cautious as Indian general elections entered its last phase. BSE Sensex and Nifty recovered slightly from their recent lows as investors picked up some of the battered stocks. Indian market also got some sentiment uplift from dovish comments by US Fed Chair and upbeat Chinese trade data that suggested some signs of recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

Friday - Sensex up by 2.9%, Nifty up by 3.0%, Midcap up by 1.9%
Sensex and Nifty surprised all watchers as indices soared to touch their all time highs amidst weak trading sentiment ahead of election results. BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi’s interview previous night – where he declared that his party is getting clear majority probably lifted the mood of investors. Investors bought stocks in droves as country nears the closing of more bitterly contested general elections in its history on Monday.