The Hindu Business Line : How sectoral indices fared

Returns calculated for the various sectoral indices in the BSE between June 21, 2006 — when Sensex was last trading at 10k levels — and Thursday’s closing price reflect a wide divergence in the pattern.

Divergent trends

While sectors such as auto, information technology and metal have lost considerable value, losing as much as 30 per cent during this period, others such as oil & gas and Bankex, have held on pretty well to their gains.

But what’s surprising is that the capital goods index, despite being trounced ruthlessly in the market this year, has managed to put in a neat 9 per cent gain over a two-year period.

There was no such luck, though, for the small- and mid-cap indices, which have underperformed the Sensex by a huge margin.

Defensives remain flat

On the other hand, defensives known to provide refuge to investors in a falling market such as healthcare and FMCG have just about managed to match the Sensex returns.

It is worth mentioning that these two sectors have managed to contain downsides better than other sectors in recent times.

From January-08 highs, when the Sensex has more than halved in value, all the sectoral indices but healthcare and FMCG lost more than the bellwether.

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How sectoral indices fared