Kissing the laptop

The Sensex sets new records for giddiness. So do TV anchors

So the Bombay Stock Exchange decided to respond to the election results by pouring cash into the market causing the Sensex to jump nearly 20 per cent,and thousands of points,in the blink of an eye. (12173.42 to 14284.21 in 13 seconds,actually,making it sound more like a futuristic sports car than anything else.) The BSEs record surge blew out a couple of circuit-breakers and shut down trading for the day.

Admittedly,thats not business-as-usual. But it isnt the dawn of a new Golden Age,either. Anyone who still retains faith in the markets ability to sum up the worth of real-world happenings in 13 seconds is someone who should be gently led to a small room with back issues of the last years newspapers and encouraged to try reading.

Sadly,at least some such people are still being listened to. Consider,for example,the scenes of unbridled delight available to those unfortunates who happened to have their televisions tuned to CNBC-TV18 on Monday morning. The dawn of a new golden age,we were told,in breathless tones of excitement. Photos of the PM and Rahul Gandhi should solemnly be hung wherever stockbrokers meet,it was suggested. That last might not have been completely serious,but after one of the anchors making the suggestion has kissed his (unresisting) laptop in happiness,it is hard to be sure.

Should we care? Was it not,the tolerant and easy-going might ask,superb entertainment? Is it grinch-like to deny these people their simple joy? In order: yes; possibly; and no. Another thing learnt in the past year is that television business journalists who think that their task is merely to entertain,or to cheer on the markets,are simply not doing their job and that public opinion can turn on them with extraordinary speed and viciousness when things go wrong. CNBCs parent station in the US has a few employees who could serve as perfect examples. Analysts should try explaining the markets animal spirits,instead of adding to them with irrational exuberance of their own.