The Hunt For Value

Indian equities are thriving amid a robust economic upswing as the country heads into an election year, which could unveil untapped for investors opportunities

- Kundan Kishore

The exuberance that gripped the stock market after the lows of Covid seems to be continuing even three years on, albeit with small blips in the middle. While 2021 saw the Sensex touching the 60,000 mark for the first time in its history, it breached the 70,000 mark towards the end of 2023. The two broad indices, Sensex and Nifty, are hovering around record levels of 71,000 and 21,000, respectively, and investors are rejoiced to see gains in their portfolios.

Despite the surge, those who have been in the market long enough know how mercurial the markets can be. The year 2023 proved to be a good year from the investors' point of view as they made decent returns. However, the journey of BSE Sensex from around 60,000 in January to its current peak of 71,000 has been far from smooth. Throughout this year-long trajectory, several factors disrupted the market's positive momentum. These included rising interest rates, heightened geopolitical tensions, and increase in crude oil prices. 

This begs the question: though 2023 has ended on a high note, what can one expect in 2024? We track the market movement in 2023 and analyse where the market is headed in 2024, besides giving you 10 stock recommendations from top analysts that can enhance your investing portfolio in the New Year.

THE YEAR GONE BY

The recent surge in the Indian stock market has resulted in a remarkable year-to-date gain of over 15 per cent, as on December 20, 2023. The volatility caused by global factors impacted investor confidence and introduced uncertainties, but the Indian market remained resilient. Also, the positive market sentiment led to a flurry of successful initial public offerings in the primary market, and many more are in the pipeline.