BluFin to launch stock market indices

“The proposed indices will be divided into 15 buckets,with sub-indices like Market-cap,Macro,Mega,Micro,and Value among others. The index will be benchmarked from the 1990s,” he said.

When asked whether he has secured permission from the markets watchdog Sebi,he said,it is not needed so long as the indices are not traded on the bourses and that it is only a few years down the line that he would be contemplating to get the indices traded.

As the rationale for new stock indices,he said,the country follows the US of the 1960/70s in forming the stock market indices methodology. That apart,the 30-share Sensex and the larger 50-stock Nifty don’t reflect the actual mood of the markets or the investing community.

BluFin is owned by Bilimoria and the PE fund Zodius Advisors chief executive Neeraj Bhargava of the WNS fame,who also is the chairman of BluFin.

The BluFin consumer confidence index for March,which is the country’s first monthly index of consumer confidence,showed a very pessimistic score of just 39.9 indicating consumers are pessimistic about the economy and their lives going forward.

The index was arrived at after interviewing as many as 4,000 urban consumers in person spanning 18 cities and has data from October last.

“Our index is unique in the sense that it is the first monthly one,apart from being fully customised for the country and is done physically unlike other consumer indices which are done globally,” Bilimoria said.

It is also planning to launch seven more indices on a similar ser of sectors going forward,he said,adding the third index will called Leading Biz Indicators Index,which will be launched in June. However,he did not proffer details on the other indices.

The consumer confidence index broadly covers four segments– general economic sentiment,inflation sentiment,Employment outlook and Spending outlook,Bilimoria said.

The index is designed to measure how consumers are feeling about the economy and their ability and desire to spend.

The BluFin consumer index is a key aggregate indicator that assesses the sentiment of the urban consumers with regard to the economy and spending behaviour. The aggregate CCI consists of two key components-the present situation index and the future expectations index.

Bilimoria said,the city-based company will launch the April CCI on May 9.

Market research firm TNS India is gathering feedback from 4,000 urban consumers from Delhi,Mumbai,Chennai,Kolkata,Hyderabad,Bangalore,Ahmedabad,Indore,Jaipur,Lucknow,Nagpur,Patna,Ludhiana, Kochi,Mangalore,Guwahati,Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack every month.