Sensex ends FY18 with 11% gain; investors richer by Rs 20.70 trillion

The benchmark BSE Sensex slumped 206 points in a see-saw trade on Wednesday to close below the 33,000-mark in the last trading session of 2017-18, but finished the year with a gain of 11.30 per cent.
 
Besides weak global cues, squaring-up of bets by investors due to end of March expiry in the derivatives segment halted its two-session winning run, brokers said. On the macro front, official data showed India’s fiscal deficit soared to Rs 7.15 trillion at the end of February, exceeding the revised target for the full fiscal year, which further hit sentiment.
 
The broader 50-share Nifty also ended 70 points lower at 10,113.70. The Sensex has gained 3,348.18 points, or 11.30 per cent, in 2017-18. The index had gained 16.88 per cent in the previous fiscal year.
 
Investors saw wealth addition of Rs 20.70 trillion during 2017-18. The market capitalisation of all firms listed on the BSE was at Rs 142.24 trillion against Rs 121.54 trillion as on March 31, 2017.
 
The broader Nifty closed the fiscal year with gains of 939.95 points, or 10.25 per cent. During the previous year, it scored gains of 1,435.55 points, or 18.55 per cent.
 
For the day, the BSE Sensex snapped its two-session winning streak to end lower by 205.71 points, or 0.62 per cent at 32,968.68. Intra-day, it hovered between 33,104.11 and 32,917.66. The gauge had rallied 577.85 points in the past two sessions. The NSE Nifty, too, ended the day 70.45 points, or 0.69 per cent lower at 10,113.70 after shuttling between 10,158.35 and 10,096.90.
 
On a weekly basis, the Sensex rose 372.14 points, or 1.14 per cent, while the Nifty gained 115.65 points, or 1.16 per cent. This was their first gain in five weeks.
 
Stock exchanges will remain closed on Thursday and Friday on account of Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday, respectively.
 
“Markets slid on the expiry day due to volatility in global market and the last leg of redemption ahead of introduction of the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax. We expect domestic volatility to normalise as declining yield and inflation may provide room for the Reserve Bank to extend their neutral stance, against rate hike expectation. The results season will be the next major trigger as earnings growth remains in the initial stage of recovery while investors are focused on the possibility of further upgrade,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
 
Tata Steel was the day’s worst performer in the Sensex pack, plunging 3.25 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel at 3.05 per cent.
 
Other losers were Adani Ports, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, State Bank of India, Power Grid, Tata Motors, ITC, ONGC, Dr Reddy’s, NTPC, Axis Bank, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank, shedding up to 2.93 per cent.
 
In contrast, Wipro rose 3.27 per cent, Coal India 2.94 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 2.30 per cent, Kotak Bank 0.55 per cent, YES Bank 0.49 per cent, IndusInd Bank 0.43 per cent, L&T 0.39 per cent, HDFC 0.28 per cent, TCS 0.26 per cent, Hindustan Unilever 0.26 per cent and Maruti Suzuki 0.11 per cent. The broader market sentiment, too, remained bearish, with the small- and mid-cap indices falling 0.92 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.
 
Sector-wise, BSE telecom fell 2.58 per cent, metal 2.04 per cent, healthcare 1.14 per cent, realty 1.07 per cent, power 1.05 per cent, infrastructure 0.99 per cent, teck 0.67 per cent, banking 0.65 per cent, PSU 0.50 per cent, FMCG 0.37 per cent and IT 0.31 per cent.
 
However, consumer durables rose 0.24 per cent and oil and gas 0.06 per cent. Overseas, Asian markets closed lower after a sharp fall on Wall Street, driven by technology stocks. Hong Kong ended 2.50 per cent down, Japan’s Nikkei shed 1.34 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.40 per cent.
 
European stocks, too, were down in their initial deals. Paris’s CAC declined 1.33 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX fell 1.43 per cent and London’s FTSE shed 0.98 per cent.