The modern thinking Indian

What should a person look for when to invest in the stock market ? The stock market is always said to be a reflection of the economic future of the country, and in the view of many experts, seen to be an indicator of the next 6 months to 1 year. So what does the future say for the country ? You need to be cautious, monitor the sectors of the economy that are not so affected by the company, look at market value of companies as opposed to their book values, look at their future potential, and so on.
Well, the last few months have been a major shakeout. The world economy is projected to have an overall negative growth or zero growth with most developed economies contracting (in fact, China and India are supposed to be among the few countries that are still growing). Scratch the details, and you see how things are pretty bad. The United States is going through a recession not like what it has seen for decades, with consumer sentiment way down. Jobs are being shed on a huge scale, industries are down, and major corporations are reporting losses or sharply reduced profits. Obama is pushing huge packages in order to try and turn around sectors such as finance, housing, auto, etc, but the economy is very slow to respond.
The slow-down in these developed economies has had a ripple effect on economies that are export led, such as China, East Asia, and even India. Sectors such as textiles, IT, gems, etc have been impacted pretty badly. At the same time, the overall sentiment is badly negative, and this has impacted growth in sectors such as Finance, Realty, Construction, Auto, name it, and the sectors are impacted. Industry is looking at getting good encouragement from the Government, but in an election year, populism is the key. At the same time, since inflation is down below 4%, one can expect some key monetary steps such as reduction of interest rates to try and boost the economy. One needs to evaluate companies that are well run, fundamentally sound, and does not indulge in unsound practices.

Labels: Company, Economy, Finance, Future, India