Nifty Microcap 250 soars, energy sector leads gains in January: Report

In a bullish start to the year, the Nifty Microcap 250 emerged as the top performer among Indian stock indices in January, recording an impressive growth of 9.9 per cent. The surge adds to the index's remarkable performance over the past year, where it witnessed a staggering 88.7 per cent increase, according to Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company’s Global Market snapshot report.

The Nifty Smallcap 250 also displayed robust growth, rising by 7.28 per cent in January 2024, making it the second-best performing index after the Nifty Microcap 250. Over the last year, the Smallcap 250 has surged by 62.6 per cent, reflecting a sustained upward trend in smaller-cap stocks.

However, the broader Nifty 50 index saw a marginal decline of 0.03 per cent in January 2024, though it has showed growth over the past year, highlighting mixed performance across various market segments.

Sector-wise, the energy sector stood out as the top performer once again, notching 9.8 per cent increase, while the banking index saw a downturn, marking the worst performance with a decline of 4.8 per cent.

In terms of investment strategies, all factor-based strategies delivered positive returns, with the value factor leading the way with an 8.7 per cent increase for the month, followed closely by the momentum factor, which gained 6.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, in the global market arena, the US indices, S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100, witnessed gains of 1.6 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively, in January 2024. The Information Technology sector continued to be a major contributor to the S&P 500’s rise.

On the other hand, emerging markets witnessed negative performance, with China being the worst performer, recording a decline of 10.6 per cent. Among developed markets, Japan emerged as the top performer with a growth of 4.6 per cent.

Commodity-wise, crude oil prices rebounded, rising by 6.3 per cent during January due to tensions in the Red Sea, reduction in US oil inventories, and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. However, gold and silver prices witnessed declines of 1.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum ended the month on a flat note, reflecting stability in the digital asset market.