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Benchmark Indian equity indices ended the last trading session of the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) on a subdued note as profit-booking in the private banking and IT sector.  At close, Sensex settled the day at 49,509, down 627 points or 1.25%, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 14,690 after erasing 154 points or 1%.

HDFC twins, Powergrid, Tech Mahindra & ICICI Bank lost the most and were down in the range of 1.70-4.10%. On the upside, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, SBI & TCS were top gainers on the Sensex.

The broader market ended with minor gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.07% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.52%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,390 shares rose and 1,491 shares fell. A total of 198 shares were unchanged.

FY21 roundup

Indian stock markets have overcome all odds and posted their best performance in a decade in FY21. Sensex has rallied 20,003 points or 67.80% from 29,505 on April 1 2020 to 49,509. Even the Nifty 50 index surged 71.13% to 14,690 from 8,584 on April 1 2020. This rally was mainly driven by foreign portfolio investments (FPI) in the equities segment that touched Rs 2,74,503 crore, which is the highest quantum of money recorded ever since the National Securities Depository Ltd began making FPI data publicly available. Previously, the highest inflow of Rs 1.4 lakh crore into the equities space was witnessed in the financial year 2012-13.

V K Vijay Kumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said financial sector, mortgage lenders, fintech companies and private insurance players, attracted significant FPI inflows.

Going forward, he said that IT, financials, cement and pharma have high earnings visibility, and therefore might attract increasing FPI inflows in FY22.

Sectorwise, the BSE Metal index rallied the most 150% during the year due to an increase in commodity prices in the global market. The BSE IT, Auto, Realty, Capital Goods TECK, Power, Healthcare, Bankex and Consumer Durables indices advanced between 65%-110% during the year.

Considering the present market scenario, Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, CapitalVia Global Research said, “The metal sector can be expected to be in the limelight for the upcoming year with rising demand. The next sector to focus on is infra. Expectations of recovery in economic demand in FY22 and increased Capex outlined in the Union budget is also set to boost the sector. Another sector which one must be looking forward to is the renewable energy sector. The renewable energy capacity additions are expected to reduce India’s dependence on Thermal power to 50% by FY 22. With a CAGR of 8.6% over the period of FY 12-19, this space may provide good opportunities.”

Global markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia declined on Wednesday as rising Covid-19 cases stoked worries about its near-term economic impact.

China’s factory activity expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in March. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 51.9 from 50.6 in February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed today.

Japan’s industrial output fell in February. Official data released today showed factory output shrank 2.1% from the previous month in February, dragged down by falls in production of cars, electrical machinery and information and communication equipment.

(With inputs from PTI.)