SENSEX, NIFTY50 rise over 5% in financial year 2024-25 amid heightened volatility; check key data

The Indian equity benchmarks delivered positive returns in the fiscal year 2024-25 despite heightened volatility in the second half of the year, data from stock exchanges showed.

The NIFTY50 index advanced 5.34% or 1,192 points, while the SENSEX gained 5.10% or 3,763.57 points during the period.

In the first half of the financial year, that is, from April to September, the equity markets surprised investors on the upside by creating new highs after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came back to power for the third time in a row in June.

Following the election victory, markets staged a one-way up move as market participants hailed political stability in the county, and expectations of the pace of economic reforms to pick up ignited positive sentiment.

The NIFTY50 index in the first half surged a whopping 17.69% to hit a record high of 26,277.35, and the 30-share SENSEX climbed 16.74% to hit an all-time high of 73,651.35.

However, in the second half of the current financial year, the bullish sentiment took a knock, and markets came under selling pressure on account of expensive valuations, relentless selling of Indian equities by foreign institutional investors and dismal set of earnings posted by the Indian companies.

There was a flight of overseas investors to other Asian countries such as China as the nation turned attractive given a number of stimulus measures that it took to boost the economy.

The NIFTY50 index posted its longest spell of monthly losses on record, starting from October through February. The NIFTY50 index corrected 10.49% in the second half of February, while SENSEX declined 9.95% from their respective highs hit in September.

In the financial year 2024-25, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth ₹1,27,041 crore, according to the data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

The selling by FIIs took place after they invested a record ₹2,08,212 crore in the Indian markets in the financial year 2023-24. The selling by FIIs came on the back of skyrocketing valuations of Indian shares and a weaker rupee against the US dollar amid growing concerns over tariffs and trade wars after President Donald Trump came to power in the United States.

Mid- and small-cap shares witnessed very high volatility in the financial year 2024-25. In the first half of the fiscal year 2024-25, the NIFTY Midcap 100 index gave up most of its gains to end the fiscal year with a gain of 7%. At its highest level, the index surged by 26.72%, data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

Likewise, the NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 5.40% in FY24-25, and at its highest level, the index surged a whopping 29% in the financial year 2024-25.