2012 - A happy new year for investors?

A lot of space has been devoted to the musings of how 2011 is a year that most investors would like to forget. While nothing has really gone well for the markets in 2011, we would look to the year to come with a lot of hope. After a gap of one issue, here is a roundup of what happened in the markets over the past fortnight.

The Domestic Scene
Overall, the markets traded with a negative bias over the fortnight, with the Sensex and Nifty having declined by one per cent each. Other broader indices too were down by an average two per cent over the fortnight. The Mid and Small-Cap stocks were hammered down badly, as can be seen from the declines in the BSE Mid-Cap (down 5.39 per cent) and the BSE Small-Cap Index (down 4.83 per cent). On the sectoral front, except for the BSE FMCG Index and the Oil & Gas Index, all the other indices were in the red.

On The Global Front
The global markets ended in a mixed bag, where on one hand the Japanese Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite ended in the red, while the Dow Jones and the FTSE were trading in the black. The Nikkei lost 0.92 per cent over the fortnight, while the Shanghai Composite was down 2.80 per cent. What can be seen as an encouraging signal is the fact that the Dow ended the fortnight up 3.96 per cent, while the FTSE was up by 2.72 per cent despite all the troubles in the European region.

While the world waits for the new year to bring cheer to the markets, we leave you with some interesting facts and figures which point towards a new dawn in the Indian market.

BSE Scaling Newer Heights
It’s that time of the year when everyone, right from retail investors to large fund managers, firms up their investing plans in a natural expectation of a brighter year ahead. While all has not been well last year, 2012 holds promise.

As India’s premier Stock Exchange, the BSE has always tried to promote initiatives that help investors build wealth in an objective and meaningful manner. Its latest initiative launched in September last year is an example of this. In late September last year, the BSE initiated its first phase of Liquidity Enhancement Incentive Programmes (LEIPS), which was followed by LEIPS-II in October 2011. It was the first such attempt in India, aimed at creating lasting and self-sustaining liquidity in the BSE's Derivatives segment. The success of this programme can be gauged from the highly positive and encouraging start that it has met. More than 400 members are now registered in the BSE’s Derivatives segment, and over 100 brokers are participating in this programme on a daily basis.

Some highlights of the programme that reflect its success include:  
•    For the first time in history, the exchange’s Derivative segment clocked more than Rs 3400 crore in turnover.
•    For the first time in the history of the BSE, the turnover in its Derivatives segment was more than that in its Equities segment.
•    For the fist time in the history of the exchange, the Sensex traded more than 140000 contracts.
•    For the first time, the index options’ volume crossed Rs 1000 crore.
•    Open interest of more than Rs 1000 crore reflects widespread participation.

A vibrant and liquid F&O market on the BSE should certainly help investors benefit from trading on the Sensex, which is the most tracked index on the Indian market scene. Watch this space for more updates.