India Rising

Here in the U.S., the stock market is still struggling to recover from its nosedive a couple of years ago.  But in India, stock indexes are soaring.  Shares of Coal India rose dramatically in their IPO Thursday, the largest ever in India, and drove the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex to a record high.  The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty closed just shy of its record as well.

Photo by Niyantha Shekar. Some rights reserved.

Reuters compared Coal India’s lucrative IPO to a similarly-sized offering in Europe — Enel Green Power – which, by contrast, dropped 4% even after the price was cut.

The indices may reach even higher on Friday, due to special ‘Muhurat’ trading at the BSE and NSE in honor of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

And lest you think the India boom is just a lot of hype,Thomas Friedman’s article earlier in the week could change your mind.