The strong performance of the Nifty is driven by heavyweights Axis Bank and Reliance Industries, both up 24.3 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.
From being the worst performer in 2019 among 20 most-tracked global markets, India has climbed to the ninth spot. The Nifty has gained 10 per cent in March in dollar terms, taking the year-to-date gains for the benchmark from - 2 per cent to 8 per cent. A 2 per cent rise in the rupee against the dollar also helped.
The strong performance of the Nifty is driven by heavyweights Axis Bank and Reliance Industries, both up 24.3 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively. Other FII heavyweights contributing to the strong performance include Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Infosys, up 14.3 per cent, 12.3 per cent and 12.1 per cent, respectively. In rupee terms, the gains are marginally lower, indicating even better returns for overseas investors who collectively own about 45 per cent of Nifty’s free float.
Out of 15 FII-owned heavyweight index stocks, 11 are in the green. The remaining four are Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) — leaders at the vanguard of the gauge’s climb to a record in October.
With $4.2 billion of overseas fund inflows in March, which amount to the biggest in two years, the Nifty is now the only index among the top 20 globally to give positive returns over the past three, six and twelve months.
