Industry body Assocham has projected that the key index of Bombay Stock Exchange is likely to touch 20,000 mark by January, 2010, on the back of rising business confidence of investors and FIIs in India.

The chamber said that the National Stock Exchange may also touch the 6,000 mark by that time next year.

"...indices of BSE and NSE would respectively touch 20,000 and 6,000 mark by January 2010 due to continuously rising business confidence of investors and FIIs in the Indian economy and more than expected financial performance of India Inc in Q2 of current fiscal which is likely to go on in near future too," it said.

Satisfactory growth in the industrial production which rose to 10.4 in August will continue to drive the growth prospects and favourably influence capital market substantially in months to come, especially from November onwards, it said.

Last time in January this year, the BSE benchmark Sensex had touched 21,000 but due to the global financial crisis it came down to below 8,000 in October. Currently, it is hovering at over 17,000.

"Other factors that will positively move stock markets will be through participation of rural folk in it because its income has started going up and driving growth in telecom and FMCG sector and more recently two wheeler segment has joined these two sectors," it said.