Most asset classes bled in the first 6 months of CY22, shows data

Most popular asset classes suffered heavy blows during the first half of 2022, following the move by central banks to go for aggressive monetary tightening in a bid to control runaway inflation. Riskier classes, such as cryptocurrencies and small-cap stocks, cracked the most amid a flight to safety among investors.

Domestic large-caps performed well when compared with global peers, with the Sensex dropping 9 per cent in the first six months of CY22 against a 20 per cent fall in the MSCI World index. Investors had few avenues to hide as debt instruments, too, logged negative returns amid the hardening of yields due to soaring inflation. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. Gold — dubbed the quintessential safe-haven asset class by many — remained flat in the first half of the year. Bitcoin fell about 60 per cent after its meteoric rise in the last few years.

The best-performing asset class was crude oil. The price of Brent crude jumped more than 52 per cent  as the war between Russia and Ukraine disrupted the energy market. The dollar also gained over 6 per cent against the rupee, benefiting those holding the greenback. Also, real estate prices firmed up a bit as developers raised prices to offset rising input costs.