New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) In a tumultuous year for Indian equities, a key index finished 2010 on a positive note with a gain of nearly 18 percent, over and above the 80-percent upward swing the previous year, after fluctuating within a broad range of 5,500 points.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) which had closed 2009 at 17,464.81 points, dipped to an intra-day low of 15,651.99 points Feb 8, and then rose to the year’s high of 21,108.64 Nov 5.
As the year drew to a close, the 30-share bellwether index finished at 20,509.09 points, with a gain of 3,044.28 points, or 17.43 percent, over the previous year’s close, data available with the exchanges showed.
The index had ended with a hefty gain of 81.03 percent in 2009, in what was the best performance since 1999, after losing 52.45 percent the year before, when it marked the third-worst performing equities index among emerging markets.
The story was no different at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), where the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty gained 933.45 points, or 17.94 percent, during the year to end at 6,134.50 points.
In contrast, it was a mixed year for other Asian indices during 2010.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 3 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 5.3 percent higher, South Korea’s Kospi finished 22 percent ahead, Jakarta’s JSX logged a 46 percent rise and Thailand’s SET Index was up around 41 percent.
These apart, Singapore’s Straits Times Index ended with more than 11 percent gain, the Philippine bellwether ended around 38 percent higher and Malaysia’s Bursa had ended 19.3 percent up Thursday, with its bourses closed Dec 31.
Among the 13 sector-specific indices of BSE, that for consumer durables performed best with a gain of 67.93 percent, followed by automobiles with 37.65 percent. On the other hand, realty was the worst performer, down 25.92 percent, followed by power, down 6.27 percent and state-run units, down 0.75 percent.
Among individual stocks that comprise the 30-share Sensex, Tata Motors gained the most, up 65.3 percent at Rs.1,302, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, up 57.1 percent at Rs.1,166.90 and Hindalco, up 53.2 percent at Rs.245.20.
At the other end of the spectrum, Reliance Infra was the worst performer, down 26.6 percent at Rs.843.65, followed by Jaiprakash Associates, down 25.6 percent at Rs.105.95, and DLF, down 20.3 percent at Rs.291.50.
While the performance of the Sensex was relatively cowed, the year marked a revival for public issues after the dull years that 2009 and 2008 were, with offerings by state-run units in the limelight with nearly 75 percent of total mobilisation.
‘Public equity issuances, comprising 64 initial public offers and 8 follow-on offers witnessed the highest-ever mobilization in 2010 at Rs.69,192 crore ($15.35 billion),’ said Prithvi Haldea, chairman of the New Delhi-based capital market think tank Prime.
‘This is three-and-a-half times higher than the previous year at Rs.19,567 crore ($4.35 billion) and 53 percent higher than the earlier record year of 2007 at Rs.45,142 crore ($10.03 billion),’ Haldea added.
Like the previous year, foreign institutional investors had a major role to play in the bull run, pumping in one of the highest amounts in recent years, as per data available with markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
‘The conviction of the world in India as an emerging economy got a confirmation through record flow from foreign funds in 2010. Their inflows in 2010 were the highest ever in India,’ Jagannadham Thunuguntla, strategist and research head at SMC Global, told IANS.
Investments of FIIs in 2010 amounted to $28.83 billion in the Indian equities markets, compared with $17.46 billion in 2009 and a net sale of $13.135 billion the year before. Mutual funds, on the other hand, made net sales of a little over $6 billion.
Looking ahead, analysts expect the sentiments to remain positive, but returns may be lower than average due to various issues such as global geo-political risks and the impact of monetary measures domestically to curb inflationary pressures.
‘One can expect the trend in the foreign institutional investment into India to remain positive in 2011. In January, one can expect fresh allocations to emerging markets by them. One can expect India to get a fair share of allocation,’ Thunuguntla said.
‘We are hopeful that in December 2011 Sensex will touch the 25,000-point mark.’
Here are some key developments in Indian stock markets in 2010:
-Sensex gained 3,044.28 points, or 17.43 percent, during the year
-It touched a 52-week intra-day high of 21,108.64 points Nov 5
-It fell to 52-week intra-day low of 15,651.99 points Feb 8
-The total market cap at Rs.7,296,725 crore or $1,621 billion as on Dec 31, 2010
-The total market cap as on Dec 31, 2009 was Rs.6,081,308 crore or $1,351 billion
-Among Asian markets, Jakarta’s JSX index registered the maximum gain of 46 percent
-As many as 72 public issues hit the Indian market to mobilise Rs.69,192 crore or $15.35 billion
-Foreign institutional investors pumped $28.83 billion into Indian equities market
-Mutual funds made a net sale of a little over $6 billion.
-Among 13 sector-specific indices, that for consumer durables performed best, up 67.93 percent
-Realty, on the other hand was worst performer, with index down 25.92 percent
-Performance of both mid-cap and small-cap indices were below that of Sensex, up 16.15 percent and 15.71 percent, respectively
-Among Sensex scrips, Tata Motors gained most, up 65.3 percent
-Reliance Infra was the worst performer, down 26.6 percent
-State-run Coal India raised $3.4 billion in October to mark India’s biggest-ever public issue
-Trading time advanced by around half-hour to be in sync with other Asian markets
-Individual subscription limit for public issues doubled to Rs.200,000 ($4,500)
-Maximum holding of promoters to be reduced to 75 percent in phases
(Arvind Padmanabhan and James Jose can be reached at biz@ians.in)
