India Is on a Tear
"Adventures do occur, but not punctually," writes E.M. Forster in A Passage to India. In other words, exciting things happen in India, but a little patience is required. In recent years, however, it seems events have sped up in the Asian subcontinent, and that's fueling a stock market rally.
Government reforms initiated a few years ago have finally started to pay off. The changes, plus a rebound in economic activity, have lifted India's stocks.
The MSCI India Index, which tracks mostly large companies, climbed 32.6% over the past 12 months, its best showing in four years and well ahead of the 0.9% rise in the developing country-stock index, MSCI Emerging Markets. Indian small-company stocks gained even more: 53.5% (returns are
