It’s that time of the year when the festive mood creeps into market trade. Every investor is optimistic and every fund manager worth his salt doles a positive prognosis about markets. No matter where markets are, how valuations look, and where the economy is heading, market players turn politically correct around Diwali. The Muhurat is too sanguine to issue cautionary statements.
So, we shall enjoy a week of complete consensus. Hiding one’s festival agnostic market views is one helluva job. WhatsApp adds to the chaos with millions of shares of Diwali picks. Investors experience a sugary high from these forwards, and quickly check which stock is trading lower.
Funds spend Diwali bandying their usual happily ever after story. Every Diwali brings the same elements into play. The market context hardly seems to matter. The sartorial assault on our sensibilities is a side show that only gets more gross every year. Sadly, those selling those garish clothes are yet to list. But who cares! It is that auspicious hour.
“Investor psychology can cause a security to be priced just about anywhere in the short run, regardless of its fundamentals.” – Howard Marks