India's Bull Market: From 1,000 to 15,000 in 17 Yrs.

India's Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex Index (BSE-30) surged past the magical 15,000 mark for the first time and hit a record high of 15,007 today before closing at 14,964, another impressive gain for a long, several-decades old bull market in India (see chart above).

The BSE stood at only 1,000 in 1990 right before India introduced economic liberalization and reforms in 1991 that opened the economy to foreign trade and investment, and helped India's economy skyrocket to become the world's third largest measured in PPP (after the U.S. and China) today, accompanied by a remarkable 15X increase in the BSE in only 17 years. In contrast, the last time the U.S. stock market increased 15X it took 22 years, from 1978-2000 (DJIA).

Average Annual Stock Returns in India:
3-year: 46.24%
5-year: 35.82
17-year return: 18.39%

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Carpe Diem India! (HT: Sanil Kori)