Indian market expensive, says Kidwai

India's stock market is seen as expensive in relation to other emerging markets but the country is still on a growth track, HSBC Group General Manager and Country Head Naina Lal Kidwai said today.

"India is seen as expensive, that is just a fact of life. Our PE (price-to-earning) multiples don't look as attractive as in other countries," she told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci event here.

PE reflects the ratio between the earning per share of a company and its price in the stock market. It shows as to how many times the share is quoting in the market relative to its EPS (earning per share).

Kidwai who is also Ficci Vice-President, however said that there were still many sectors "which look very interesting and will continue to look interesting." She did not give any sectoral analysis.

She made these comments on a day when the market nosedived by 333 points with Sensex closing below the 18,000-mark for the first time in two-months at 17,993.

The HSBC Country Head said that while India has to be part of a portfolio of any emerging market fund manager, the number of optimists about the country has gone down.

However, the overall mood hasn't still become negative.

She said instead of a lumpy growth of nine per cent, the economy should grow in a sustained and consistent way.

On a question relating to the widening gap between the rich and the poor, Kidwai said, "The fact that these differences can widen is a cause of concern but we can ensure that all in the society benefit from India's growth. So it becomes critical that we look at the corporate social responsibility."