The Indian stock market gave a modest return in Samvat 2081 due to heightened geopolitical tensions, tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, weak earnings and heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
Equity benchmark Nifty 50 rose by over 6 per cent, led by gains in select heavyweights, including Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, and Interglobe Aviation (IndiGo).
On the other hand, broader Nifty 500 index underperformed, rising by 4 per cent from Diwali 2024 to Diwali 2025. However, over 20 stocks surged more than 50 per cent in Nifty 500 index during the period under review.
Samvat 2081 review: What moved the market?
Samvat 2081 was a challenging year for the Indian stock market as it underperformed most major global markets.
In the first half of the year, the market saw deeper correction due to US trade policy uncertainty, elevated US bond yields and dollar Index, weak domestic earnings, lower-than-expected government capital expenditure, weak consumption, and a slowdown in the credit growth.
“These factors collectively contributed to the valuation derating and the subsequent correction in the market for the first half of the Samvat,” brokerage firm Axis Securities pointed out.
On a monthly scale, the Nifty 50 remained in the red for the five consecutive months- from October 2024 to February 2025.
In the second half, the Indian stock market saw mild gains amid mixed trend in the US policies, rupee depreciation, FII selling, unimpressive earnings and elevated valuations.
Top Nifty 50 gainers and losers in Samvat 2081
As per Capitalmarket data, shares of Bajaj Finance (up 56 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (up 48 per cent), IndiGo (up 46 per cent), BEL (up 44 per cent), and Eicher Motors (up 42 per cent) remained at the top in the Nifty 50 index from Diwali 2024 till date.
On the other hand, Trent (down 33 per cent), TCS (down 24 per cent), Tata Motors (down 22 per cent), Infosys (down 17 per cent), NTPC (down 17 per cent), and HCL Technologies (down 15 per cent) remained the top losers in the index.
Top Nifty 500 gainers and losers in Samvat 2081
Shares of Force Motors (up 121 per cent), Authum Invest (up 88 per cent), RBL Bank (up 86 per cent), Laurus Labs (up 84 per cent), Manappuram Finance (up 80 per cent), and L&T Finance (up 80 per cent) were the top gainers in the Nifty 500 in the last Samvat.
On the flip side, Tejas Networks (down 61 per cent), Praj Industries (down 54 per cent), Vedant Fashions (down 51 per cent), BASF India (down 46 per cent), and Akums Drugs (down 45 per cent) remained the top losers in the index.
Samvat 2082 outlook
India’s favourable growth-inflation outlook, income tax relief, GST 2.0, RBI’s monetary easing, expectations of an India-US trade deal, and hopes of earnings revival in the second half of the financial year may result in a healthy gain for the domestic market in Samvat 2082.
Brokerage firm PL Capital has raised 12-month target for Nifty 50 to of 28,781 from 27,609 earlier.
“In base case, we value the Nifty 50 at 15-year average PE of 19.2 times with September 2027 EPS of ₹1,499 and arrive at 12-month target of 28,781 (27,609 earlier),” said PL Capital.
“In bull case, we value the Nifty at a PE of 20 times and arrive at bull case target of 30,220 (28,990 earlier), and in bear case, the Nifty can trade at a 10 per cent discount to long-period average with a target of 25,903 (24,848 earlier),” said the brokerage firm.
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Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations expressed are those of individual analysts or broking firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.
