Investors’ wealth up Rs 7,91,771 cr

In fact, stalwart from the Tata stable such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Power rank first, third and sixth in terms of highest gains in market cap during the period to April 25 2003 (when the bull run started) till date. These companies notched gains of 2,52, 202 and 187 per cent respectively during the period. Together these three companies have upped their market cap by 220 per cent at Rs 37,833 crore. By contrast, ONGC’s market cap has risen by 160 per cent at a staggering Rs 1,31,050 crore. RIL’s market cap has risen 118 per cent to Rs 81,764 crore while that of SBI, Wipro and HLL have risen by 103 per cent at Rs 29,854 crore, 99 percent at Rs 41,005 crore and 57 per cent at Rs 47,447 crore respectively.

Who’s the biggest gainer from this bull run? The government has accounted for nearly one-third of the rise in market cap as government companies like ONGC, Indian Oil, SAIL and HPCL showed a sharp rise in the last four months. “If this government sells its entire stake in public sector companies, it can raise over Rs 4,00,000 crore. This is enough to wipe out all deficits and finance new development programmes,” said a fund manager. ONGC has added maximum — the rise in market cap is only notional — to the government kitty. The oil giant’s market cap has more than doubled. Others like SBI, SAIL and Indian Oil also increased their market caps significantly.

The market capitalisation of BSE’s ‘A’ Group shares increased by a whopping Rs 34,198 crore (3.15 per cent) in a day from the level of Rs 10,84,722 crore as on January 1, 2004 to Rs 11,18,920 crore as on January 2, 2004.

The fancied Sensex has shot up by over 2,500 points during the last 8 months. And it’s showing signs of further rise. “This is the best chance for investors to offload some of their shares and book the profit. Investors should sell when the prices have hit the roof,” says stock dealer R.A. Podar. So far so good. This is only a temporary phase. Fund managers and brokers know that the bull run will not continue for ever. It will have to stop at one point of time. And when the fall comes it can be steep. The market cap can fall at the same speed. The message for investors: sell when others buy and buy when others sell.