By Arvind Padmanabhan

Pittsburgh, Sep 26 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who as finance minister in the 1990s invited criticism for saying he does not lose sleep over the rise or fall of a key equities market index, was cautious Friday night when answering a question on the stock markets.

"I am now out of touch with what's happening in the stock markets," the prime minister replied during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 summit here.

But the economist in him did not betray him.

"Obviously, in recent months, the stock markets have benefited from the flow of confidence, the return flow of capital back into India," he said, adding the fundamentals of the Indian economy had also a role to play.

Indian stock markets have risen sharply in recent months, after a major crash last year, with the key sensitive index, or Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange, rising 3,590.82 points, or 27.41 percent over the past year.