Sensex crashes, down 492 points at close

A key index of the Indian equities markets crashed Monday to shut shop 492 points below its last closing figure.

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened at 15,153.21 points, closed at 14,611.32 points (provisional), 492.23 points or 3.26 percent lower than Friday's close.

Like the Sensex, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too fell, shedding 3.86 percent from its last close to stand at 4,409.8 points.

Profit booking hurt several lesser scrips, with broader market indices taking more of a beating than the Sensex.

The BSE midcap index fell 5.85 percent from its previous close, while the BSE smallcap index was down 6.06 percent.

Sensex closes above 15,000-mark after 9 months

A key index of the Indian equities markets fought its way back into the green Thursday to close above the 15,000-mark, first time since Sep 2, 2008.

It had ruled in the red for most parts of the day.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 14,755.08 points, ended at 15,019.28 points (provisional) - 148.38 points or 1 percent above Thursday's close.

The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) followed the Sensex, ending trade at 4,570.9 points, a gain of 0.89 percent.

Broader market indices again did better, with the BSE midcap index gaining 2.26 percent and the BSE smallcap index ending 2.22 percent up.

Profit booking pulls Sensex below 12,000-mark

Investors sought to book profits at the Indian equities markets Friday, pulling down a key index 240 points and below the 12,000-mark after touching an intra-day high of 12,180.07 points.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 12,092.97 points, lost 240.51 points or 1.98 percent from its previous close to end trade at 11,876.43 points.

Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) lost 1.72 percent to close at 3,620.7 points.

The broader market indices also closed lower, with the BSE midcap index moving down 0.17 percent and the BSE smallcap index gaining 0.32 percent.

The Sensex touched an intra-day high of 12,180.07 points and a low of 11,765.06 points.

Of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE, the indices for banking and metals took the biggest hit while consumer durables stocks gained the most.

There were only four gainers on the Sensex: Jaiprakash Associates, up 2.53 percent at Rs.142.10; Hindustan Unilever, up 0.98 percent at Rs.232.90; L&T, up 0.42 percent at Rs.990.80; and Grasim, up 0.03 percent at Rs.1,775.20.

Losers included Wipro, down 6.59 percent at Rs.355; ICICI Bank, down 5.19 percent at Rs.520.60; Reliance Infra, down 5.07 percent at Rs.769.15; and Sterlite, down 4.93 percent at Rs.491.95.

The market breadth was uncannily mixed, with both advances and declines at 1,266 while 91 stocks remained unchanged.

Companies that were most traded in rupee terms included HDFC, Reliance Industries, ICICI and Tata Steel.

In other Asian markets, the Hang Seng, a key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ended trade 171.98 points or 1 percent higher at 17,389.87 points.

The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, gained 47.13 points to shut shop at 9,432.83 points.

European markets were trading marginally higher with the FTSE in Britain ruling 67.45 points up at 4,466.13 points and its French peer CAC 40 trading 71.65 points higher at 3,323.17 points.

Data with the market watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), showed foreign funds were net buyers Friday lapping up scrips worth $79.9 million.

Bombay Stock Exchange index down nearly 800 points

India's stock markets suffered extended losses Monday and kept slipping further and further into the red and slid by nearly 800 points, moving below the 15,000 mark early afternoon.
At 1.46 p.m., the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 791.43 points or 5.02 percent at 14,969.09, its lowest level since late August 2007.
At the same time, the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 215.10 points or 4.53 percent at 4,530.70.
The market tumbled as the fire sale of ailing US bank Bear Stearns and the Federal Reserve's emergency cut in its discount rate intensified concerns that there could be more victims of the global credit crisis.

Metals, realty and banking stocks were major losers among sectoral indices on BSE. Ranbaxy Laboratories, Jaiprakash Associates and HDFC declined sharply. The market breadth was extremely weak. All the BSE sectoral indices were in the red.

On BSE 2,166 shares declined as compared to 323 shares that advanced; 59 remained unchanged.

Indo-Asian News Service

Indian markets continue to test bottom

The Indian equities markets maintained their downward plunge in afternoon trades Friday as data showing a surge in inflation further dampened sentiments of already weak markets.
All the sectoral indices were in the red. The worst hit were metal, realty, banks, power, oil and gas, consumer goods sectors, which were all down over 4 percent.
At 1:14 p.m., the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange was down by 834.55 points or 5.05 percent at 15,707.153.

The broader 50-share CNX S&P Nifty on the National Stock Exchange was down 230.15 points, or 3.80 percent at 4,734.35.

All the 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were trading in the red. Mid-caps and small-caps were the worst affected as reflected in the extremely weak market breadth.

The top losers from the Sensex pack included Reliance Energy, which went down by 8.29 percent at BSE.

Besides Asian markets, concerns on the political front also weighed on the market after the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Thursday renewed its threat to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government saying that the ruling coalition's future depended on how it took the call on pursuing the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Indo-Asian News Service

Black Monday yet again for BSE

It was a Black Monday again. As weak global markets triggered a massive sell-off, stocks across the board went into a tailspin on the major Indian bourses today. So sharp were the losses recorded by blue chip stocks today that the benchmark BSE index Sensex went tumbling down by a massive 5.12% or 900.84 points, recording its second biggest fall ever (in absolute terms) in history.

As fears of growing credit losses and the implications of a weak US economy on other nations continued to dampen the sentiment, it was a virtual one way trip down south for stocks today. Moderation in growth and concerns over rising inflation were the other factors that hurt the sentiment.



While the Sensex, which touched a low of 16,634.63 in late afternoon trade, ended at 16,677.88, the Nifty settled at 4953, a few points off its intra-day low of 4936.05, netting a huge loss of 270.50 points or 5.18%.

Auto and pharma stocks, thanks to certain sops announced in the Budget that was tabled last Friday, found some support. The Auto and Healthcare indices ended lower by just 0.8% and 0.19% respectively!

Mirroring the sharp fall in prices of bank, power and realty stocks, the Bankex, Power and Realty barometers went down by 6.72%, 6.35% and 6.39% respectively. The Capital Goods, Metal, Oil & Gas and PSU indices lost 5.5% - 6%. The Consumer Durables index dropped down by 6.72% while the IT and Teck indices eased by 4.4% and 4.32% respectively. BSE FMCG drifted down by 2.1%.

Among Sensex components, only Cipla (2.15%), Hindustan Unilever (2%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (1.1%) and Maruti Suzuki (0.85%) managed to buck the weak trend today.

Sun Pharmaceuticals (3.1%), Hero Honda (1.75%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharma (0.8%), Zee Entertainment (0.75%), Nalco (0.75%) and BPCL (0.5%) were the gainers from the Nifty index.

State Bank of India (down 8.8%) was the biggest loser from the Sensex. DLF, HDFC and BHEL lost 8% - 8.5%. Hindalco, NTPC, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank lost over 6% today.

Reliance Communications, Reliance Energy, Satyam Computer Services, Infosys Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Grasim Industries, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services

Suzlon Energy, the biggest loser in the Nifty, went down by 10.4%. Punjab National Bank (down 9.65%), SAIL (down 9.3%), Reliance Petroleum (down 7.9%), Siemens (down 7.35%), Tata Power (down 6.7%), Idea Cellular (down 6.05%), Sterlite Industries (down 6.05%), Unitech (down 5.55%), GAIL India (down 4.65%), Tata

Communications (down 3.95%) and ABB (down 3.55%) also declined sharply. Cairn India, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and HCL Technologies eased by 2.955, 2.05% and 1.4% respectively.

Mirroring the sell-off in midcap and smallcap segments, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices fell by over 4% today. The market breadth remained very weak right through the session.

When trade ended, out of a total of 2766 stocks that were seen in action on BSE today, as many as 2330 stocks were down in the red. 396 stocks managed to post gains and 40 stocks ended at their previous closing levels.

The volume of business on the bourses came down a bit today. The National Stock Exchange recorded a turnover of Rs 12,754.20 crore, which was lower by around Rs 3,262 crore than what the exchange had recorded on Friday last week.

Indian stock markets crash on global cues

Indian shares fell sharply Wednesday amid steep falls in other Asian markets, as uncertainties in global financial markets, especially in the US, continued to play havoc with sentiments.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened weak at 18,247.03 points, against Tuesday's close at 18,663.16 points, and registered a drop of as much as 727.15 points within minutes over the previous close.

Some 30 minutes into trading, the 30-share index was ruling at 18,149.58 points, with a loss of 513.58 points, or 2.75 percent, over the previous day's close, data with the exchange showed.
The mid-cap and small cap indices were also down 1.76 percent and 1.21 percent, respectively, and so were the 13 sector-specific indices. In fact, all the 30 shares that go into the Sensex basket were also trading in the red.
Prominent among losers were Bharti Airtel, Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Satyam, Housing Development Finance Corp, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Aluminium and Oil and Natural Gas Corp.
The Sensex had ended Tuesday with a small gain of 2.84 points or 0.02 percent.
Asian markets were trading weak. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 5.35 percent or 1,327.49 points at 23,481.21. Japan's Nikkei slipped 4.13 percent or 567.34 points at 13,178.16. Singapore's Straits Times plunged 3.53 percent or 107.21 points at 2,931.21. However, South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 0.38 percent or 6.44 points at 1,696.57.
In the US markets, Dow plunged 370.03 points, or 2.93 percent to 12,265.13. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 44.18 points, or 3.20 percent closing at 1,336.64, while the Nasdaq composite index slipped 73.28 points, or 3.08 percent to 2,309.57.
Indo-Asian News Service

Bombay Stock Exchange Update (BSE) Indian shares move up on Fed rate cut amid volatility

Amid high volatility, Indian shares moved up Wednesday after opening higher as the US Federal Reserve stepped in to cushion the global financial crisis with a cut in interest rates, triggering positive reactions in stock markets across the globe.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened higher at 17,415.26 points, with a gain of 685.32 points, over the previous day's close at 16,729.94 points.
By noon, the index was ruling at 17,311.97 points, with a gain of 582.03 points, or 3.48 percent, data with the bourse showed. All sector-specific indices were also ruling higher.

But lingering uncertainty over possible recession in the US saw the key index fluctuate wildly in a broad range of 725.57 points as investors tried to book profits at every small rise, analysts said.
Considering Tuesday's close, the peak of 17,676.60 points reached minutes after commencement of trading meant a rise of 946.66 points.
The sector-specific index for realty stocks led the upswing, followed by those for oil and gas, power, metals, state-run units, banking, consumer goods and automobiles.
Among specific stocks, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd was up 9.06 percent, NTPC was up 8.08 percent, Reliance Communications gained 6.92 percent, Hindustan Aluminium was up 6.72 percent and Reliance Energy rose 6.32 percent.
Ranbaxy Laboratories, Satyam Computers, Housing Development Finance Corp, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy, Associate Cement, Mahindra and Mahindra also made moderate gains.
Monday and Tuesday saw the barometer plummet 1,408.35 points, or 7.41 percent, and 875.41 points, or 4.97 percent, on account of panic selling, in line with the movements across the globe from Tokyo to New York.
The authorities at the Mumbai bourse had to suspend trading for an hour Tuesday, as Sensex fell below the circuit breaker level, before a pep talk from Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on the fundamentally strong Indian economy helped ease the losses.
Investors had lost $170 billion Monday in terms of market capitalisation, with another $95 billion shaved off the valuations the next day as scrip after scrip lost ground on account of panic selling.
Stung by fears of a possible recession, The US Federal Reserve had delivered a surprise interest rate cut of 75 basis points early Tuesday, which shored up market confidence across the globe, including India.
Indo-Asian News Service

The myth about world economy's independence from US economy

The steep Asian and European stock market fall seriously challenges the recent wisdom that the global markets have finally become independent of and immune to any slide in the US economy. If anything, the panic on the Asian and European stock markets only underscores how seriously misplaced this assertion was.
The subprime loan crisis, which is devouring America's real estate industry, was considered a local problem by many outside the US until they discovered how many major global players in fact stood quite close to the fire - thanks to complex deal making that goes on behind such mortgages.

As late as Monday, many in the US believed that the Federal Reserve, which sets the country's monetary policy, would prefer to let the subprime market crisis sort itself out. However, the scale and spread of the market panic in Asia and Europe reversed that view practically overnight with the Fed, as the Federal Reserve is known, intervened on Tuesday with the biggest interest rate cut of 0.75 percent since October, 1984.
It is true that the dramatic market fall was caused as much by the perception of a weakening and perhaps even recessive US economy as the early reality of it. What is surprising is that the global markets remained unaffected by the problems in the US for so long. What is even more intriguing is that after surging ahead for months the global markets took an about-turn as if they had just chanced upon the challenges in the US.
The red hot economies of India and China, one growing at nearly nine percent and the other between 11 and 12 percent, and overall strengthening of other Asian economies such as Japan, created the impression among many observers that finally the world economy was significantly reducing its dependence on the US.
On the contrary, as it turned out in the last couple of days, the world still remains inextricably attached to the fortunes of the US economy.
That is where the uncertain politics in the US come into play in so much as they impact the rest of the global community. With less than a year left for the Bush administration and it having lost most of its initiative on any substantive issues, especially the economy, it is seriously doubtful whether there would be a turnaround any time soon.
In a sense the US economic management is caught in the vicissitudes of electoral politics. The Bush administration is practically into its lame duck period where the president no longer sets or controls the agenda. On the other hand there is no one other than George Bush who at least theoretically has the power and the platform to intervene by the sheer virtue of still being president. The dichotomy is that the platform has lost its effectiveness.
The global fall put the US Federal Reserve in a peculiar spot. If it was contemplating a hands-off approach, as many had speculated, it had to change gears suddenly in the aftermath. A hands-off approach may have been a strategy to send a signal to the rest of the world that the problem is not as serious as the markets had concluded. However, on Tuesday the Fed reversed that strategy and delivered a dramatic three-quarters of a percentage point cut. Obviously, the hope was that such a big cut would calm frayed nerves on the Wall Street. But it had the opposite effect as the Dow Jones fell irrespective of the announcement.

The Federal Open Market Committee seemed to foreshadow recession that in so many words. It said, "Appreciable downside risks to growth remain" without really succeeding to hide that it was concerned about recession.
"The committee took this action in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth. While strains in short-term funding markets have eased somewhat, broader financial market conditions have continued to deteriorate and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households. Moreover, incoming information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets," it said.
The announcement of a $150 billion stimulus package by the Bush administration coupled with the interest rate cut to bolster the US economy are measures that could well ease some of the pressures but at this stage it is anybody's guess when and if the global markets will be able to internalize the problems in the US without any significant loss.
Indo-Asian News Service

Trading was halted at Indian stock markets Tuesday as key indices registered steep falls of over 10 percent minutes after the opening bell but the benchmark index staged a weak recovery after the markets reopened at 10.55 a.m.
Even after reopening, the benchmark index clocked a loss of 1,285.95 points, down 7.30 percent over Monday's close.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell by 2,029.05 points, down 11.53 percent, minutes after trading began. The Sensex opened at 16,884.09 points and hit a low of 15,576.30 in early trade, prompting an automatic halt in trading at BSE.
An automatic halt is triggered if shares fall by more than 10 percent during a trading session.
The broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange also shed 60.45 points, down 12.10 percent at 4,578.35 points, compared to the previous close of 5,208.80 points.
Trading at the NSE has also begun and the Nifty is currently ruling at 4,825.78, still down 7.20 percent over Monday's close.
The Sensex had lost over 2,000 points in intra-day trade Monday, as bears tightened their grip on the bourses amid worries over US recession, before staging a 700-point rally towards the closing bell.
Ascribing the steep fall to a "correction", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday the value of shares in India would continue to grow as fundamentals of the economy remained strong.
"I am confident the markets will grow in an orderly fashion," the prime minister said.
"From time to time, some corrections are part of the market process. I am sure and confident we will sustain orderly growth," he added.
On Monday, the finance ministry also advised investors to exercise caution. It said the fundamentals of the Indian economy were strong and that the steep fall in Indian indices was less that those in other Asian economies.
"Today's market fall reflects the continuing uncertainties in the global economy and not any change in the fundamentals of Indian economy," said a statement issued by the ministry after the markets closed Monday.
"Investors should take informed and responsible decisions in the situation and not be led by market rumours or any unwarranted apprehensions."
Indo-Asian News Service

Chidamabaram dispels investors' fears

Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram Tuesday allayed fears of investors after the Sensex continued its downward spiral and trading was stopped for one hour as the markets hit the 10 percent circuit limit on opening.
"The crash does not affect long term sentiment and enough liquidity will be provided. We should not be bothered by the West's economy," Chidramabaram told reporters after trading was suspended for an hour at the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Markets, however, recovered after reopening at 10.55 a.m. after the benchmark Sensex fell to a low of 15,576.30 within minutes of opening, crossing the lower circuit limit of 10 percent.
On Monday, the 30-share barometer tumbled by 1,408 points on concerns regarding the US economy going into recession.
The finance ministry asserted that Monday's sharp fall in share prices did not reflect any change in the fundamentals of the Indian economy.
In a statement released Monday, the government advised investors not to be led by market rumours or any unwarranted apprehensions.
"The fundamentals in the domestic economy are quite strong. Today's market fall reflects the continuing uncertainties in the global economy and not any change in the fundamentals of the Indian economy," the statement added after the markets recorded their biggest fall.
Indo-Asian News Service

Trading halted; Sensex plummets 2029 pts @ 10:00 hrs

The bears, who took global cues and played havoc yesterday, showed no mercy this morning and the resultant slide in stock prices sent the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty crashing down by over 10%. The exchanges have halted trading for an hour now. At 9:56:52 a.m, when BSE cried halt, the Sensex was down by a staggering 11.53% or 2029.05 points at 15,576.30. The Nifty plunged to 4569.50 and was at 4578.35 with a loss of 12.1% or 630.45 points.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries lost over 15%. Reliance Petroleum went down by 20%. Unitech, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Communications, NTPC, Cairn India, Sterlite Industries, Idea Cellular, Zee Entertainment, ITC, Ambuja Cements, Tata Steel, Grasim Industries, State Bank of India, ONGC, Reliance Energy, BHEL, Suzlon Energy, Tata Power, ACC and SAIL lost 10% - 20%.

Bajaj Auto and HDFC Bank, faring a lot better, are down just marginally from their previous closing levels. All other Sensex and Nifty components have posted sharp losses.

Indian shares crash on fears of US recession

Indian equities registered one of the steepest falls ever during intra-day trading Monday, resulting in a key index shedding close to 2,000 points, as bears tightened their grip on the market amid worrying global cues.
About half-hour before the end of trading, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was ruling at 17,621.40 points after a loss of 1,392.30 points, or 7.32 percent, over the previous day's close.
This actually marked a small recovery for the index, which had plunged almost 2,000 points at 16,951.50 points midway into the trading session, with not a single scrip in the 30-share basket trading in positive territory.
"There is absolute panic. Fear has taken over, as possible recession in the US is appearing to be around the horizon. Heavy selling by foreign funds is also adding to the gloom," said an analyst with a leading brokerage here.
Over the past week, the barometer index has shed as much as 3,031.30 points, or 14.62 percent, indicating the level of pessimism that has gripped the equities market in the country.
The previous steepest fall was on Oct 17 when the index shed 1,743 points due to the markets watchdog's purported move to impose restrictions on the unregistered funds that were operating through participatory notes.
The index for metal firms was the worst hit, losing over 13 percent, followed by those for realty, down 12.99 percent, oil and gas, down 11.61 percent, power, down 10.75 percent and public sector units, down 10.01 percent.
NTPC Ltd led the losers among Sensex stocks, down 15.09 percent, followed by Reliance Energy, down 14.79 percent, ACC, down 14.41 percent, Reliance Communications, down 12.13 percent and DLF, down 10.02 percent.
Indo-Asian News Service

The 10 biggest falls in Sensex history

Here are the 10 biggest falls in the Indian stock market history:

1. Oct 17, 2007: The stock market benchmark Sensex crashed by 1,743 points within minutes of opening, prompting suspension of trade for an hour. The 30-share index, Sensex, tumbled to 17,307.90, a fall never seen before.

2. May 18, 2006: The Sensex registered a fall of 826 points (6.76 per cent) to close at 11,391, it's biggest ever, following heavy selling by FIIs, retail investors and a weakness in global markets.

3. April 28, 1992: The Sensex registered a fall of 570 points (12.77 per cent) to close at 3,870, it's second-largest, following the coming to light of the Harshad Mehta securities scam.

4. May 17, 2004: Another Monday. Sensex dropped by 565 points, its third biggest fall ever, to close at 4,505. With the NDA out of power and the Left parties, part of the UPA coalition government, flexing their muscle, the Sensex witnessed its second-biggest intra-day fall of 842 points, twice attracting suspension of trading. At close, however, it regained some of its lost ground.

5. May 15, 2006: The market fell by 463 points to 11,822 points.

6. May 22, 2006: Sensex slumped by 457 points to 10,482.

7. May 19, 2006: Sensex slumped by 453 points to 10,939.

8. April 4, 2000: Sensex slumped by 361 points to 4,691.

9. May 12, 1992: Indian stock markets plunged 334 points to fall to 3,086.

10. May 14, 2004: Sensex lost 330 points to fall to 5,070.

Brand Sensex enters the trademark ring

Somewhere midway in the stunning bull run, there has been a move to legally ringfence one of India's biggest brands, the Sensex — a name that has captured the nation's collective imagination and has emerged, somewhat deceptively, as the biggest barometer of India's growth story.

Asia's oldest bourse — the Bombay Stock Exchange — has sought trademark protection on the brand, along with 24 other trademarks, and the application is currently pending. Confirming this, the BSE spokesperson said all the trademarks will be registered in name of Bombay Stock Exchange shortly.

Interestingly, the exchange has already obtained the registration of the trademark Sensex along with other trademarks like ‘The Stock Exchange, Mumbai', ‘BSE' and ‘DOLLEX' (the dollar-linked version of some of the benchmark indices) in the US. What has triggered the move? It's possibly part of the customary practice in the IPR regime where the BSE has joined several other companies to get trademark rights on various services and brands.

However, it could also be part of a big structural shift where the bourse has been corporatised and foreign institutions have picked up stakes.

According to Prerak Hora of law firm Nishith Desai Associates, "Many old companies which are receiving foreign investments are going in for safeguards like registration of trademarks and patents. A brand is an intangible asset, and such safeguards help the company get a better valuation."

Even though the BSE is the rightful user of Sensex, the application for trademark registration was made just a year ago — two decades after the bellwether stock index was compiled. The Sensex was launched in 1986, based on 30 stocks of large, financially solid companies. Since then it has travelled a long way.

Said Harish Bijoor, chief executive of brand consultancy Harish Bijoor Consults, "If I were to do an off-the-cuff valuation of the Sensex brand, I would first attach a value to it relative to the other brands that swim in the same set — the RBI, GoI, Ficci, CCI and Nasscom, for instance. Amidst these, after the Government of India and the RBI, the Sensex would be the most powerful brand. It's hard to put numbers behind this."

What's important is that the Sensex is no longer purely an index of the share market. "So far, the Sensex has meant something to only Indians, but as cross-border trading increases, its strength will gain significantly," added Mr Bijoor.

According to Nabankur Gupta, founder of Nobby Brand Architects & Strategy Consultants, globalisation is one of the biggest motivations behind trademarking the Sensex brand.

"As global trading increases, there is a compulsion to have powerful brands, and the Sensex could emerge as one of the strongest brands in its genre. The world trading community cannot ignore India any longer, and as the quantum of trading into India increases, the Sensex will gain strength. In fact, it may well emerge among the Top 3 after New York and China," he said.

The BSE has applied for registration of trademarks under Class 36, 35, 41 of the Trade Marks Act 1999. Significantly, services marks were included in the Act in September 2003. Before that, companies used to get trademark registration under class 16, which covers brochures and stationaries of the applicant.

"Great brands have personality, trust, heritage and emotions attached to them. The Sensex, which is all about well-being and adding wealth, has all this, making it a powerful brand. Today, the wealth of the country revolves around the Sensex, which gives you a measure of the trust it enjoys. The Sensex has a God-like persona, a bit like Kuber, the god of wealth in Hindu mythology," says Gupta