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The unprecedented Covid crisis has been no deterrent to India’s stock market. In the Hindu year of Samvat 2076, which ended on Saturday, the 30-share Sensex index registered the best gains in three years.
From Samvat 2075 to Samvat 2076, the Sensex gained 11.71 per cent, or 4,579 points. The 50-share Nifty index gained 10.33 per cent during the period, again the best in three years.
In the previous two Samvat years, 2074 and 2075, the gains for Sensex were 7 per cent and 10.84 per cent, respectively. This despite those years being relatively ‘normal’, with no economic shutdown similar to what has been witnessed this year due to the Covid pandemic.
From a near 40 per cent crash in February and March, the indices have seen a rally of more than 45 per cent. Gains across sectors, led by banking, financial services, energy and IT, pushed the markets higher, with the share price of Reliance Industries witnessing its best ever gains in nearly two decades.
Gold shines brighter
Gold gained 30.8 per cent to hit a high of ₹50,536 per 10 gm on Friday from ₹38,630 on the closing of Samvat 2075 (October 27, 2019).
Silver performed even better, with 34 per cent returns. The white metal gained ₹62,704 per kg on Friday from its previous year close of ₹46,820.
Auspicious start
Samvat 2077 was off to an auspicious start with the Sensex hitting a new lifetime high on Saturday during the special one-hour Muhurat trading session to mark Diwali.
The index gained 194 points, or 0.45 per cent, to close at 43,637. The Nifty index gained 60 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at 12,780.
Among the Sensex stocks, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, ITC and Infosys rose about 1 per cent each. The market breadth was positive with 1,836 stocks advancing and 612 declining on the BSE.
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