Best performance in 6 months: Sensex jumps over 4% in March amid Ukraine war; ends FY22 with 18% gains – Times of India
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The performance comes in the back of a ragging war between Russia and Ukraine that has spooked stock markets globally, forcing investors to move to safe haven assets.
The 30-share BSE index opened higher on the last day of FY22 but gave up gains in a choppy trade to close 115.48 points or 0.20 per cent lower at 58,568.51.
In spite of global markets reeling under the pressure of the ongoing war — which has stretched for over a month now — both sensex and Nifty have shown good performance during March.
While the BSE index jumped 4.13 per cent, the broader NSE Nifty too advanced over 5 per cent this month, beating their global peers.
During the initial days of the war in February, markets had come severely under pressure for good 15 sessions, leading to loss of over Rs 15 lakh crore for the BSE investors. With the war creating a rage in Ukraine, oil prices soared to record levels amid repeatedly sanctions by the United States and allies, European Union and the United Kingdom.
India being the third-largest importer of crude oil, feared rising prices will push up its trade and current account deficit, while hurting the rupee and fueling imported inflation. All this made investors jittery and they continued to lay off stocks.
As Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, sensex witnessed one of its worst crashes in the last 2 years. Ever since the pandemic-induced crash in March 2020, investors gained significantly leading to more people joining the markets looking to earn higher returns. However, despite gains there were certain worst days for the markets as well.
However, markets staged a good comeback in March as oil prices cooled and expectations of some solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Sensex, Nifty jump over 18% in FY22
For 2021-22 fiscal, the BSE sensex jumped 9,059.36 points or 18.29 per cent while the Nifty rallied 2,774.05 points or 18.88 per cent.
Sensex has finished FY21 at 49,509.15 as compared to a level of 58,568.51 today.
The financial year was marred with challenges starting from state-wise lockdowns during the second and more devastating wave of Covid-19 to headwinds from global markets.
The war in Ukraine also posed a major challenge for stock markets and businesses across the world.
However, domestic indices emerged to be the best performing index among global peers with 18 per cent rise in sensex and nearly 19 per cent jump in Nifty.
The benchmark BSE sensex scaled record highs during the financial year, crossing yet another milestone of breaching the 60,000-mark on September 24.
Especially, the month of August was a remarkable one for the bourses as majority of gains were witnessed by both.
The sensex very comfortably took a leap from the 54,000-mark at the start of the month to finish at a level that’s over 57,000. This means the BSE index soared over 9 per cent in August itself.
Thereafter, on October 19, the BSE index surged past the 62,000-mark for the first time in intra-day trade, touching an all-time high of 62,245.
Broader markets
Both BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices jumped 25 per cent in fiscal year 2021-22.
This clearly indicates the strength and resilience shown by domestic investors amid a slew of headwinds from the global markets.
The numbers assume significance here as the indices gave good returns at a time when foreign investors withdrew from domestic markets for major parts of the year.
Metal, media stocks gave over 50% returns
Investors gained nearly Rs 60 lakh crore
The buoyant trend in sensex helped investors gain over Rs 59.75 lakh crore in the 2021-22 fiscal.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rallied from Rs 2.4.30 lakh crore at the beginning of this fiscal to Rs 264.06 lakh crore by March 31.
M-cap had jumped to an all-time high of over Rs 280 lakh crore on January 17 this year.
According to analysts, easing of restrictions, strong vaccination drives and less severe Covid waves abated concerns regarding the pandemic.
Besides, equities mirrored optimism despite worries related to geopolitical tension, inflation concerns and FII selling.
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