From the last Diwali to the present, the global economic outlook has changed drastically, for the worse. Mounting recession fears, geopolitical unrest, ongoing rate hikes from major central banks, skyrocketing inflation, and currency crises are currently affecting the markets.
However, despite global headwinds, Indian equity markets have managed to score well when compared to their global peers. For the last three consecutive months, Nifty has outperformed its major Asian peers. The banking sector gave the Nifty a significant boost, and the rally in banking stocks started after credit demand increased across the board in June, from personal loans to business loans.
The MSCI India Index rallied almost 10% in the September quarter, compared with a 23% slump for the MSCI China Index. The 33 percentage point outperformance by the India gauge is the biggest since March 2000, according to a Bloomberg report.
The aggregate market value of firms included in the MSCI China Index has dropped by $5.1 trillion, the lowest level since July 2016. The MSCI India Index, on the other hand, added about $300 billion and hit a record high this year, the report said.
The Nifty reached its highest point ever on October 18, 2021, at 18,477.05. Since then, the index has only four times touched the 18,000 level, but it has never managed to hold that crucial level. The index is currently trading 5.12% lower at 17,501.60 points, while the Sensex has dropped 4.40% in the last year, going from 60,923 to 59,000. During the same time period, the BSE Small Cap Index fell by 3.09% while the BSE Midcap Index tumbled by 5.96%.
Despite market turbulence, More than a dozen stocks in the Nifty 100 index saw gains of between 30% and 120% in the past year. Four out of the six Adani group stocks are at the top of the list.
Adani has expanded his empire aggressively in recent years by diversifying his business into multiple sectors. In May, he entered the cement sector by winning the race to acquire Swiss cement major Holcim's stake in Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC for $10.5 billion (around ₹81,361 crore). On July 9, Adani's group confirmed its entry into the race to acquire telecom spectrum, saying it will be used to build a private network to support its businesses ranging from airports to power and data centres.
In August, the Adani Group also announced plans to set up a 4.1 million tonnes per annum integrated alumina refinery and a 30 million tonnes iron ore beneficiation plant in Odisha that could cost over ₹58,000 crore.
Among Adani group stocks, Adani Total Gas, Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission and Adani Green Energy Ltd were the Nifty 100 index top gainer the last one year with gains of above 80%.
Shares of Adani Total Gas have gained nearly 133% in the past one-year period, making it the best performer among Adani Group stocks. The stock began rising in February and has since increased by 74% to date. Likewise, other Adani group stocks, Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission, and Adani Green Energy, gained 111.2%, 91.2%, and 91.4%, respectively, during the same time period.
| Scrip Name | % One Year Return |
| Adani Total Gas | 133.6 |
| Adani Enterprises | 111.2 |
| Adani Transmission | 91.2 |
| Adani Green Energy | 81.4 |
| Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd | 73.6 |
| Bharat Electronics | 58.2 |
| Bank of Baroda | 52.6 |
| ITC | 41.8 |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | 39.0 |
| Eicher Motors | 37.7 |
| Bajaj Holdings & Investment | 35.2 |
| Coal India | 33.5 |
| Ambuja Cements | 31.8 |
| Siemens | 30.1 |
Defence stocks, including Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics, jumped 73.6% and 58.2% in the past one year. The government's strong push for making in India and focus on strengthening the defence sector are boosting defence stocks.
On Monday, the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, said that India registered defence exports worth ₹8,000 crore in the six months of the current financial year and aims to achieve the annual export target of ₹35,000 crore by 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday.
Over the past few years, ITC Ltd. has consistently underperformed in the markets, but this changed in 2022 after the stock delivered more than 50% returns. ITC's rally began in early March, and since then, the stock has experienced a one-way spike, surging from ₹215.85 to ₹350 levels, delivering an extraordinary return of 62% in just seven months, and the stock has risen 41.8% in the last year.
Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra, a passenger car and utility vehicle maker, have risen 39% in a year. The stock saw its upward rally after the Q4FY22 announcement. On May 31, 2022, the share price of the company exceeded Rs. 1000 for the first time. The stock accelerated by 33.8% since then to reach an all time high of ₹1,338.
Eicher Motors gained 49% in the last six months to ₹3,657, up from ₹2,454. In the last one year, the stock has returned 37.7 per cent to shareholders.
Other stocks including Coal India, Ambuja Cements, Siemens, and Bajaj holdings& investment also witnessed a surge of 30-35% in the past one year period.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of MintGenie.
