|
Markets: Weekly round up: Sensex ends up at 15,238 |
 |
After the relentless rally of past several weeks, the benchmark indices bucked the trend on last Monday, taking a cue from weak European markets and lower US index futures, and also squaring off of long positions by few entities recently barred by SEBI.
More than 800 stocks hit the lower circuit, while 252 stocks touched the upper circuit. The Sensex slid 430 points and settled at 14,665 while the broader Nifty lost 157 points to end at 4,430.
On Tuesday, the bourses opened strongly and recovered previous day's losses. Both the Sensex and the Nifty closed above 15,000 and 4,500 point respectively. The Sensex ended higher at 15,127, up 461 points and the Nifty spurted by 121 points to close at 4,550. All sectoral indices closed higher. The top gainers were the BSE Realty, IT, Metals, Consumer Durables and Capital goods indices.
On Wednesday, the markets witnessed a robust rally on the back of strong global cues and positive sentiment.
After touching a day's high of 15,580, a 10-month record, the Sensex ended with a gain of 339 points and settled at 15,466 and the Nifty surged 104 points to end at 4,655.
The Indian markets snapped its two-day winning streak on Thursday owing to profit-taking at higher levels by market players. The Sensex shed 55 points, to close at 15,411 and the wider Nifty lost 17 points to end at 4,637.
The Sensex, on Friday dipped further by 173 points to finish at 15,238, after touching the day's high of 15,600 and the Nifty slipped 54 points to end at 4,583 on account of selling by fund houses and retail investors.
India's valuations cheaper: Analysts
Until recently, China's massive government stimulus spending worth 6 per cent of gross domestic product was the biggest draw in Asia for investors chasing growth.
However, last month's stunning election victory by India's Congress-led coalition, which allowed the grouping to secure a parliamentary majority, has turned the heads of some fund managers to the consumer-oriented sectors in India. India's election results have added to the consumer appeal of the country because the ruling coalition's strong position is expected to translate into a slew of incremental reforms.
In addition, India's valuations are cheaper, suggesting more upside potential for any investments.
China's valuations in the consumer discretionary sector have risen more rapidly than India's, all the more reason why asset managers have been sifting through Indian markets in search of value.
At the beginning of the year, 12-month forward price-to-earning multiples were higher in India at 9.0 times compared with 7.81 times in China.
Now they are 13.95 times in India and 15.32 times in China. Not only are India's consumer discretionary stocks cheaper than China's, the broad market is outperforming as well.
Ninety-day rolling total returns of the FTSE index for India are 74 per cent, compared with China's 57 per cent and Hong Kong's 45 per cent.
Investors have had every reason to look at India's consumer market anyhow. The median age in the billion-plus population is 25 years and private-sector consumption makes up about 60 per cent of economic activity.
|
