By Jayesh KhilnaniSamvat 2074 saw volatility return in a big to the market with India VIX, the volatility measure, rising over 40 per cent.

The Nifty IT Index turned out to be the best sectoral performer with a gain of more than 30 per cent on the back of a depreciating rupee.

The rupee has depreciated 12 per cent against the greenback. Real Estate and Smallcap stocks, which had had a stellar run in 2017, turned out to be the biggest disappointments for investors, with indices representing the two segments losing more than 20 per cent since last Diwali. Yet, the Indian market managed to perform reasonably well in local currency terms.

The SP BSE Sensex returned 8 per cent return, compared with nearly 10 per cent rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average of the US.

Asian peers underperformed, with Hang Seng losing more than 6 per cent, Kospi down over 15 per cent and the Shanghai composite declining over 20 per cent in the same period. TOP MARKET CAP GAINERSTOP MARKET CAP LOSERSLiquidity was flowing in abundance, with domestic institutions pumping in more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore during the year, while foreign institutions withdrew a little over Rs 20,000 crore. NSE’s Nifty50 index added Rs 3.5 lakh crore to combined market capitalisation, led by Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries.

Mukesh Ambani became the richest Asian, toppling Jack Ma during Samvat 2074.

The top three gainers of the Nifty pack belonged to the technology space, led by TechMahindra, while two out of the top five losers were from the oil marketing space.

TOP 5 NIFTY GAINERSTech Mahindra up 60% TCS up 52% Infosys up 49% Titan up 45% JSW Steel up 41% TOP 5 NIFTY LOSERSTata Motors down 56% HPCL down 45% Yes Bank down 40% Bharti Infratel down 38% BPCL down 37%