10 Things That Define The Worst March For Indian Markets
From high volatility to steep corrections, it has been a March to forget for India’s equity markets.
Indian equity markets are nearly 30 percent off the record high levels they scaled in January. The slide would have been far worse, had it not been for the rally in five out of the last eight sessions.
Here are 10 things that defined March for India’s benchmark indices:
1. The Worst March Ever
Both the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 saw their worst decline ever in March as they tumbled 23 percent each, dragged by the new coronavirus pandemic and concerns regarding smaller private banks.
The previous biggest drop came in March 1993 when Nifty 50 fell 19.6 percent. For sensex, it happened in 2001 when it fell 15 percent.
2. A Quarter Full Of Volatility
January-March saw Nifty 50 tumble 29.3 percent, the worst quarter since 1992. It was the worst ever drop for the Sensex, which tumbled 28.57 percent during the period.
3. A Fall Over 20 Percent
It’s not the first such instance when the Sensex and Nifty plunged more than 20 percent in a month. It happened twice earlier, in May 1992 and October 2008.
4. Negative Returns This Year
Both the Sensex and Nifty fell in each of the first three months of the year. For Sensex, that happened thrice in the past—2008, 2004 and 1995—and twice for Nifty 50 (2004 and 1995).
5. Worst March For 34 Nifty Stocks
A fall as steep as 20 percent cannot take place without a slide in heavyweights. Almost all the Nifty 50 heavyweights recorded their biggest decline ever in March.
6. Nifty Stocks With Worst Quarterly Drop
18 out of the 50 constituents of Nifty 50 saw their worst ever quarterly drop.
7. In Line With Benchmark
27 Nifty 50 fell in each of the first three months of the year, like the benchmark.
8. The Ones That Stood Out
46 Nifty 50 constituents fell in March. But two FMCG companies and two pharma firms bucked the trend.
Three of these four companies - Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd.UL and Nestle India Ltd. delivered gains in January-March well.
9. HUL And Nestle
The FMCG firms gained in each of the first three months of the year.
10. All Sectoral Indices Decline
All other sectoral indices fell in March, led by Nifty media, realty, bank, auto and metal indices.