Integration of Indian Capital Markets with Global Markets: An Empirical Study

From 1997 onwards, the effect of globalization is becoming evident in the Indian capital markets. The stock prices of Indian companies and the stock market indices have been driven not just by the macro and micro factors of the Indian economy. Events in other parts of the world have also increasingly started having an impact. This is in stark contrast to the situation in the insular days prior to 1991, when major policy changes were made by the Indian government to open up the economy. The increased volatility of stock markets and reduction in controls over capital movements across borders has reflected in the stock prices in India. This paper aims at validating that indeed globalization has found its way into the Indian capital markets. It estimates the extent of correlation between the major world stock markets in USA, UK, Japan and Hong Kong with the Indian Stock Market Index like the BSE Sensex and also how portfolio fund flows have affected its movement. The study restricts itself to the period between January 1997 and June 2000. In brief, this paper seeks to: establish the relationship between the Bombay 30 Stock Sensitivity Index (SENSEX) and the global indices mentioned above like Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite of USA, FTSE100 of UK, Nikkei 225 of Japan and the Hang Seng of Hong Kong. look at how portfolio funds flows have been affecting the Indian stock market.