Nifty, NSE scale new heights

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In a startling revelation, market data showed that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) made more money than 98% of the 2,137 companies listed on the premier exchange as on March 31, 2023. Only 37 of these companies managed to rake in higher profits than that of the exchange. 

As per NSE’s financials for Q1 FY24, the exchange earned a total revenue of Rs 3,357 crore, registering a 22% y-o-y increase. During the same period, it also earned Rs 1,844 crores as PAT (profit after tax). For FY 2022-23, the exchange raked in profits worth Rs 6,400 crores. In fact, its EPS or earning per share stood at an Rs 146.12. 

Even the exchange’s net worth took a huge leap between FY22 and FY23, jumping from Rs 11,548 crores previously to Rs 16,676 crores in FY23. The only companies that eked ahead of NSE in terms of profitability were Bharti Airtel, which earned a net profit of  Rs 8,473 crores and Maruti Suzuki India, which earned Rs 8,211 crores during FY 22-23. 

Prominent names like Bajaj Auto, Adani Ports and Asian Paints earned less profits than NSE, despite being  heavyweights on the exchange’s indices. It also helps that NSE exercises a monopoly when it comes to derivatives trading, with its market share being a staggering 98% in FY23. 

The exchange’s flagship index Nifty is also scaling new heights. After breaching the historic 20,000 points benchmark, the index closed at 20,192.35 points in green. So, what should investors do? Stay put via SIPs, or book short-term profits and exit. For regular investors, compounding can yield far better results than trying to time the market to get maximum returns. 

Says financial planner Viral Bhatt, “The market is cyclical and there will always be ups and downs. Just because the market is doing well now doesn’t mean it will continue to do so forever. SIPs are a long-term investment strategy and are designed to ride out market volatility. By investing through SIPs, you are essentially averaging your cost of investment, which can help you protect your capital in the event of a market downturn”.