A reader recounts his experience in the current stock market bull run.
Interesting, I thought.
If the Sensex can touch 7200, 8000 is certainly not impossible. Or, for that matter, 9000 or 10000. Or, hey, even 15000. Sure, one can go on and on, but my imagination halted at 15000.
I pooled in all my savings and pumped it in to the stock market. The party had begun and I was not going to be left out.
Was I new to this game?
Not really.
My earlier rendezvous with the stock market had been dull, to say the least. So much so that I can't even recall the details.
This time around, it was different. The market had a sense of direction. It had predictability.
With the dedication of Sachin and concentration of Dravid, the innings continued. Off 'n' on, it got the eye of Sehwag to crack hundreds in a day's play. All I had to do was to keep the scores.
Boy, was I having fun!
My worth grew. Maybe not much in absolute terms (because of my limited investment), but surely in percentage terms.
Life finally looked worth it. So what if your job doesn't pay you what you deserve? I had finally learnt how to make money. The stock market surely knows how to reward people their true worth.
Not only was the market rewarding me with money; it was also giving me the reputation of being the 'shares guy'.
Colleagues looked up to me. When they came to pay their respects at my desk, they were overwhelmed with 'tips' I handed out. They had to excuse themselves and scurry back to their desks. I mailed them the balance.
My fan following increased
By now, a few of them had invested substantial sums in the stock market (thanks to my coaxing!). The Sensex touched 8400.
They began to get concerned. My reply was uniform, "Take a chill pill dude; the Sensex knows just one way... up."
Then came the Correction. This flamboyant term is used when the stock market has been consistently rising and suddenly dips temporarily. Basically, it is the market's way of saying, 'Cool off for a while, the roller coaster ride is about to take off.'
The correction saw the Sensex dip around 200 points. I smiled and mailed everyone: 'Guys, this is your chance. Put in the rest.' Everyone willingly obliged and jumped in at my advice.
After all, I was their guru. I was solely responsible for the opening of their financial third eye, as it were. Sridhar even took a personal loan, with my blessings.
All our coffee breaks were transformed into crash courses that attempted to explain stock market nuances and technicalities that were beyond their comprehension.
I basked in this newly found glory. When I spoke, people listened. Call it an eye for stocks or just plain feeling for the market; I was starting to believe I had it in me.
Meanwhile, the Sensex touched a high of 8821 (October 5).
When the sun set
I was whistling my way to the office.
Sunny day. Pleasantly warm. Agreeably cool. Birds singing. Children playing. I actually noticed the flowers in the office garden (violets are my favourite). The roses had just got bigger. The guard smiled and let me smell them.
I swaggered in the office before-time like never before. The messiah of wealth sat in his cubicle.
I logged in my machine and typed my broker's URL and clicked on the 'Market' tab.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
I was dead.
October 21, it touched a low of 7901 and by October 31, the low was 7717. Down by more than a 10 points from its high.
Looking back
If life is a great leveller, the stock market is the greatest.
I lost. Heavily.
Sridhar kept giving me missed calls which I did not dare respond to. Ravi took back the CDs he had lent me.
Sceptics -- who never did listen to me -- started frequenting me more often. With a coffee mug in the hand, wink in their eyes and a sly smile, they surrounded me like vultures.
I had tons of reasons to dish out.
The Foreign Institutional Investors pulled out. The market is just correcting. Stocks were overvalued.
But the look in their eyes was uniform: Cut the crap, I want my money back!
Not only did I lose money but the aura surrounding me soon dissipated.
Life today
I hate my job.
People are so finicky.
Life sucks.
It has been more than a month now and the Sensex has resumed its upward journey.
The market still beckons me but I am more cautious. I have learnt the hard way -- never trust a smiling bull.
Now, when I do check the market, I look around just to make sure no one's looking.
