Nifty's journey from 930 to 9,300

At an annualised returns of 15.2%, equity is arguably the best-performing asset class in 14 years

The benchmark Nifty 50 on the National Stock Exchange closed at 9,304 on Friday. Exactly 14 years ago, on April 28, it was at 930. The index has jumped 10-fold in this period. At an annualised returns of 15.2 per cent, equity is arguably the best-performing asset class in 14 years. The year 2003 marked the start of a bull run, during which the Nifty soared seven times in only five years. The run ended in 2008, thanks to the global financial crisis.
 

An analysis of the performance of the index’s 50 constituents for the 14-year period starting April 28, 2003, shows 26 companies outperformed the Nifty’s 902 per cent return, while 19 underperformed. The remaining five are no longer listed. The top five outperformers are Mahindra & Mahindra (up 49.2 times), Sun Pharma (48.5 times), Dabur (46.6 times), Britannia (35.1 times) and Larsen & Toubro (34.7 times).
 
Among the laggards are Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (down 72 per cent), Shipping Corporation (up 81.5 per cent), Oriental Bank of Commerce (up 104 per cent), Reliance Infra (up 172 per cent) and Hindalco (up 278 per cent).
 
Interestingly, only half the companies, part of the index in 2003, continue to be part of Nifty. Some of the key present constituents not present earlier, are Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Eicher Motors.
 
Interestingly, Eicher Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel were all listed in April 2003 but were not part of the Nifty index. These three in the past 1 4 years have gained 311 times, 128 times and 22 times, respectively.


Leaders and laggards based on Nifty components in 2003. Some stocks may not be part of the index now, *Change over Apr 28, 2003; (Source: NSE)