Despite the corrections in the past few months, 2024 has generally been a good year for investors. Benchmark indices hit a record high in September, but a massive sell-off by foreign institutional investors in October and November led to the decline. Domestic investors, who were big buyers in 2023, continued to add to their equity investments in 2024, too, which offset the FII selling.
Will 2025 be another strong year for markets, or should investors brace for more volatility and tepid returns? THE WEEK spoke to several experts to understand what is in store.
After ending 2023 at 72,240, the BSE Sensex surged 19 per cent to touch a life-time high of 85,978 on September 27, 2024. There has been some pullback since, and the benchmark closed on December 16 at 81,748, down 5 per cent from its peak.
Midcaps and smallcaps saw a stronger rally this year than last year. The BSE Midcap index jumped about 35 per cent to a life high of 49,701 on September 24, before seeing some correction. On December 16, the Midcap index ended at 48,126, down 3.2 per cent from its peak. On the other hand, the BSE Smallcap index accelerated 34 per cent in 2024, to close at 57,227 on December 16.
In October and November, foreign portfolio investors withdrew Rs 1.15 lakh crore from India's stock markets. The key reasons being the rising global geopolitical uncertainties, a massive stimulus announced by China to lift its economy, and expensive valuations in many pockets in the domestic market. They have returned since, buying more than ₹22,700 crore worth stocks in December. However, for the 2024 calendar year, their total equity investments of ₹10,683 crore (up to December 16) are significantly lower than the ₹1.71 lakh crore they invested in 2023.
This story is from the December 29, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the December 29, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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