Business Opportunities2009: The year that was
Sensex, Nifty hit the first-ever upper circuit in history.
Year 2009 was the most profitable year in the last two decades for Indian stock markets. After a severe fall in 2008, there was an almost equally sharp reversal in 2009 as markets across the globe strengthened aided by stimulus packages. As the global economy sprouted green shoots of recovery, investor confidence returned to the stock markets with many a market ending 2009 on a high note. The markets in the US and Asia Pacific were around 15-month highs at the end of 2009.
TCS and Wipro led the gainers among the IT"s. While the former soared 213 per cent to Rs 750, the latter rallied 191 per cent to Rs 679.
Jaiprakash Associates, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Hero Honda, Grasim, ICICI Bank, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance, Tata Power and ACC also outperformed the Sensex with gains in excess of 81 per cent each.
Telecom stocks, however, ended with losses mainly because of the big blow in October on account of a price war between the telcos. Reliance Communications tumbled 24 per cent to Rs 173, and Bharti Airtel shed eight per cent at Rs 329.
The foreign institutional investors pumped in around Rs 83,000 crore while the domestic mutual funds were net sellers of stocks worth Rs 5,250 crore during the year.