2014 Return: 20%
After going nowhere for three years, Indian stocks have caught fire in 2014.
Investors have been bullish on India since Narendra Modi and the pro-business Bharatiya Janata Party won by a landslide in elections earlier this year.
The hope is that Modi will be able to revive economic growth in the world's largest democracy following a long period of stagnation under the previous government, said Colin Bell, a director at Auerbach Grayson, a broker that trades in nearly 130 markets worldwide.
"There's incredible optimism around India," Said Bell. "The hopes are probably a bit too high."
While the market may be vulnerable to a "correction" in the short run, Bell said the political shift in India could set the stage for long-term economic reforms.
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"It's hard to understate the structural change this could cause," he said.
The Indian economy is powered by the services sector, with IT outsourcing, pharmaceutical and technology companies competing on the global market. But investors have been rotating into shares of companies that stand to benefit from domestic growth, such as manufactures and banks, according to Bell.
Still, the latest reading on Indian economic growth was underwhelming and it remains to be seen if Modi can deliver the reforms investors are expecting.
"This is a country with a lot of problems," said Christopher.
