A Punter's Game..

Merry XMas to all my readers! I welcome you all to my latest post! It's a bright, sunny day here and what a gripping match going on between India and Australia at the moment! I like this type of hard-fought matches; I hope India can continue with their determination to fight the Aussies like they have done in the day so far!

Seems like a punter's game at the moment in the market; just been informed that the January Nifty futures are seeing a good roll over with pretty high premiums! The bulls might be gearing up for another run in 2008; atleast for the first month! Some may attribute the rise in the stock markets at the beginning of a year to the January effect.

January effect may be defined as a general increase in stock prices during the month of January. This rally is generally attributed to an increase in buying, which follows the drop in price that typically happens in December when investors, seeking to create tax losses to offset capital gains, prompt a sell-off. The January effect is said to affect small caps more than mid/large caps. This historical trend, however, has been less pronounced in recent years because the markets have adjusted for it. Another reason the January effect is now considered less important is that more people are using tax-sheltered retirement plans and therefore have no reason to sell at the end of the year for a tax loss.

Whichever way the market goes, it sure makes for an interesting watch! Because you got to time your exits and entry very carefully and if lady luck is with you, then, you, my dear punter, might have just won a lottery!!

Hang on people, kyunki picture abhi baki hai!! And just as I wrote this, our dear captain, Anil Kumbe, snacthed yet another Australian wicket, Andrew Symonds! This is the third wicket to fall in the post-tea session and India might be fancying their chances of polishing off the Australian tail quickly! All this seemed highly unlikely when Australia put up an opening stand of 135 but kudos to Kumble and his bowlers for not letting up! May the Indians maintain their intensity!