The stock market closed Samvat 2080 on a negative note on Thursday, with the Sensex falling 553 points to 79,389, close to its three-month low. The NIT closed at 24,205 points with a fall of 136 points on the NSE.
The last month of the year saw heavy selling by foreign funds, causing a drop of around 6% in each of the main indices. However, this contrasted with the rise of the stock market, which also created wealth at an unprecedented rate. Keeping this in mind, since the last Diwali (the day the Samvat year begins) on November 12, the wealth of investors in India has increased from Rs 128 lakh crore (around $1.5 trillion at the current rate). current exchange rate) to Rs 453 lakh crore. This made Samvat 2080 the largest wealth generation year on record.
The gains were driven by a stable government at the Centre, smart management of inflation scenario despite geopolitical uncertainties, strong macroeconomic fundamentals and record domestic fund inflows amounting to Rs 4.7 lakh crore. According to Shripal Shah, MD & CEO, Kotak Securities, despite geopolitical concerns, national developments such as elections, good monsoon, strong macroeconomic indicators and SEBI’s continued efforts to protect investors have contributed to a solid and promising market ecosystem. “In particular, we have seen an increase in the number of new investors who want to be part of India’s growth story.”
On Thursday, the country’s leading stock exchange NSE said its investor base has crossed 20 crore. And in the mutual fund sector, while the total assets under management by the industry stood at around Rs 68 lakh crore, the monthly gross inflows through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route approached Rs 25 billion. rupees. All three numbers are at maximum levels of life. This year, gold, the favorite precious metal among Indians, reached the second position in terms of annual returns. Gold has gained 33% for the year, compared to silver’s 37% gain.
Among popular investment opportunities, Bitcoin was the best-performing asset class, returning 72%. On the returns side of the spectrum, the rupee and crude oil barely generated any returns. The year also witnessed an unusual incident when opposition parties demanded the resignation of the SEBI chief based on allegations of conflict of interest, allegations which the regulator’s chief rejected. Next year, Samvat 2081, could be a challenging year for Indian equities.
