Investors’ wealth soars by Rs 77.66 lakh crore in 2024

New Delhi, Dec 31: Stock market investors became richer by a whopping Rs 77.66 lakh crore in 2024, helped by an overall optimistic trend in equities, where the BSE Sensex surged over 8 per cent.

Analysts said the year witnessed a tug of war between the bulls and bears marked by volatility but, despite the uncertainties around the world, the Indian markets sustained the pressure and delivered impressive returns.

“The year 2024 has been a challenging yet rewarding one for the markets. The Nifty steadily climbed from January to September, reaching a historic high of 26,277.35, before giving up some gains to still close the year with an impressive rise. This marked Nifty’s ninth consecutive year of positive returns, despite FIIs selling shares,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 5,898.75 points or 8.16 per cent this year. The BSE benchmark index hit its all-time high of 85,978.25 on September 27.

Thanks to the overall optimistic trend in equities, the market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed firms surged Rs 77,66,260.19 crore to Rs 4,41,95,106.44 crore (USD 5.16 trillion) in 2024.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies hit the coveted Rs 400-lakh crore mark for the first time on April 8 this year. The market cap of these firms had hit the Rs 300-lakh crore mark in July last year.

“Early in the year, a combination of anticipated inflation moderation, expected interest rate cuts, and optimism surrounding the BJP’s re-election fuelled a strong rally, pushing indices to record highs. However, the election results, while favouring the BJP, fell short of a complete landslide, leading to a brief market correction.