BSE Sensex- Mount 70K in sight-

The BSE Sensex is now just a little over 700 short of the psychological 70,000-mark. It took just one session for the Sensex to breach the 69,000 mark after it crossed 68,000 for the first time on Monday.

So will the magic figure of 70,000 be reached this year itself? Opinion is divided.

Global investment veteran Mark Mobius of Mobius Capital Partners had, back in October, said the Sensex was on its way to touching the 100,000-mark in the next five years.

However, market players sound caution, calling the rally “euphoric”. Expecting profit-booking at some point, they say equities are in overbought territory and Indian markets are richly valued.

“If the FII revival sustains, then 70,000 is a possibility, which is not very distant. A 1-2% rally can happen at anytime. But FII inflows generally cool in the second half of December on account of the holidays. The sentiment is definitely positive. However, Indian valuations are definitely stretched,” said D P Singh, deputy MD and joint CEO, SBI Mutual Fund.

Foreign investors have pumped in close to $2 billion (`16,443 crore) in the first three sessions of December alone, after a net $2.3-billion investment in November. This followed a $5-billion outflow in September and October.

“Retail investors don’t care about valuations. We have to acknowledge that while some pockets are fairly valued, others are not. This is no doubt a euphoric rally, and it seems investors are celebrating the 2024 verdict in advance. This is because retail investors are ‘scared to miss out’ on this rally, and are eager to participate,” said Vijay Kedia, ace investor.