Samvat 2073 has been an eventful year for the Indian economy. In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision ban 86 percent of currency in circulation. The other anticipated reform was the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which ushered in a new indirect tax regime. These disruptions, coupled with an economic slowdown, couldn’t deter the Indian markets where benchmark indices scaled fresh highs.
Here’s how the markets fared from last Diwali to now.
The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index rallied to multiple record highs in Samvat 2073, backed by strong domestic inflows and upbeat sentiment on Modi government’s reforms.
However, the Nifty underperformed most of its global peers during the same period.
Hindalco Industries Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd were the two best performing stocks on the Nifty 50, reflecting the rally seen in base metal prices this year.
Three of the worst performing stocks during this period were pharmaceutical companies as the sector was battered by regulatory hurdles and pending approvals.
Information technology services management company Vakrangee Ltd was the best performing mid-cap stock in Samvat 2073, followed by Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
Reliance Communications Ltd, with its debt worries, failed merger attempts and credit downgrades became the worst performing mid-cap stock in the same period. It was followed by three smaller drugmakers.
Among small caps, non-banking financial company Indiabulls Ventures Ltd saw returns soar over a 1,000 percent. The biggest loser in the space was Energy Development Company.
Copra was among the best performing commodities along with a host of base metals. Precious metals such as gold and silver were not that lucky. Rubber prices fell the most in the same period after hitting a record high in February.
The Indian currency had a topsy-turvy Samvat 2073. It was among the best performing currencies in Asia in the first half of the year, but was relegated to being among the worst as foreigners dumped local stocks amid the economic slowdown and weak earnings.
Indian sovereign bonds too saw the rally taper off towards the end of the period and were down 0.86 basis points in Samvat 2073.
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