Sensex enters New Year on optimistic note; gains over 3,000 points in 2010:

India's robust economic growth and record overseas investments helped the stock market add about Rs 12 trillion to investor wealth, as the BSE benchmark Sensex gained over 3,000 points during 2010. It gained 17 percent in 2010, to be among the best-performing major Asian markets this year.

As the stock market closed on a bullish note on the last day 2010, with a 120.02 point surge in Sensex today, the benchmark index rose by 3044.28 points for the entire year.

In the process, the total investor wealth, measured in terms of cumulative market capitalisation of all listed companies, rose to Rs 72,96,725.14 crore, from Rs 60,79,000 crore at the end of 2009. During the period, the Sensex rose from 17,464.81 points on December 31, 2009 to 20,509.09 points today.

Besides, during the decade ended today, the total investor wealth grew over 10-fold from about Rs 7,00,000 crore at the end of the year 2000. The Sensex registered nearly five-fold rise over the 10-year period.

"The barometer of Indian capital markets Sensex has moved up five fold from 4,000 to 20,000 in this decade and the FII investment, which was Rs 6,200 crores in the year 2,000, has surpassed Rs 1,00,000 crore in 2010," Unicon Securities Vice President Research Madhumita Ghosh said.

Market experts said the key driving forces behind the market rally this year, when the stocks rose by an average of over 17 per cent, were impressive FII inflows as also the continuing robustness of domestic economy, which inched closer to the 9 per cent annual growth level.

"In 2009-10, in lieu of the global meltdown Indian market showed better resilience due to stricter banking norms and robust domestic demand. We showed faster recovery and reverted to to GDP growth of closer to 9 per cent in FY10," Globe Capital PMS Head KK Mittal said.

The year also saw the Sensex hitting its record closing level of 21004.96 points on Diwali day, November 5. However, the record-breaking bull run continued only till Diwali, and consolidation, marked with bouts of sluggishness, was seen on the bourses in the last two months of 2010.
~ET