Q. Pratik, the Indian stock market had incredible momentum, reaching 20,000+ at the beginning of this year, but has suffered substantially with the global economic crisis, and now is trading around the 10,000 mark. Where does it go from here?

A. Many sectors of the Indian market are currently being priced as if there is a systemic crisis in India. That is not the case at all. Indian banks are healthy, and domestic savings is north of 30+%, providing a stable and solid deposit base for banks.

Where the market goes from here is anyone's guess, but I'm seeing one of the best risk/reward scenarios I've ever seen. This is not across the board, but in select areas that are not included in the main indices.

I like those companies that serve a domestic market where the supply/demand dynamic is [favorable]. In this environment, taking a top-down sector approach may not be as good as taking a company-specific approach. Companies that have zero debt, solid balance sheets, and have lots of free cash flow are appealing. History has shown that [companies that] come out of periods like this with assets unimpaired will do really well.

Q. What indicators would tell investors it is time to get back into the Indian markets?

Continue reading Global Q&A: What's Next for India?

Global Q&A: What's Next for India? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"If you've ever read the great E.M. Forster and his seminal novel A Passage To India, you are probably already acquainted with the riches of India's culture," notes leading fund expert Doug Fabian.

In his Successful Investing, the advisor explains, "Now thanks to two new exchange-traded funds, it's going to get easier than ever to get acquainted with the financial riches of India's equity markets."

"WisdomTree Investments launched what it calls the investment industry's first exchange-traded fund focused on India. The fund, called WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (NYSE: EPI), began trading on Feb. 22. Rival ETF provider PowerShares is right behind with its PowerShares India Portfolio (NYSE: PIN).

"WisdomTree India Earnings Fund invests directly in local Indian securities by selecting from a universe of approximately 150 profitable companies that are included in the WisdomTree India Earnings Index.

Continue reading ETFs: A 'passage to India'

ETFs: A 'passage to India' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.