Sensex and Nifty Drop Over Two Years as 100 Rupees Invested in Indian Equities Shrinks Below 90 While Global Peers Surge

Indian equity benchmark indices have sharply lagged international peers over the past two years, with both the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex eroding capital even as global equity markets rallied strongly.

According to data compiled by the Business Standard Research Bureau from Bloomberg, an initial investment of 100 units of local currency made on October 9, 2024, fell to 90.15 units in the Nifty 50 and 88.96 units in the BSE Sensex by October 2026. The study evaluated price returns across 15 major global indices without exchange-rate adjustments to capture domestic equity performance in each respective home market.

Global Equity Scoreboard: Two-Year Wealth Trajectory

The performance of 100 units invested on October 9, 2024, across key international indices closed on October 9, 2026, as follows:

• Kospi (South Korea): 100 invested in Oct '24 grew to 136.80 in Oct '25 and reached 255.40 by Oct '26 (a 155.40% gain).
• Taiex (Taiwan): 100 invested in Oct '24 rose to 120.49 in Oct '25 and ended at 217.63 in Oct '26 (a 117.63% gain).
• Nikkei 225 (Japan): Grew to 123.68 in Year 1 and reached 175.75 by Year 2.
• Ibovespa (Brazil): Advanced to 109.04 in Year 1 and reached 160.81 by Year 2.
• Straits Times (Singapore): Climbed to 123.50 in Year 1 and stood at 150.23 by Year 2.
• Nasdaq Composite (USA): Rallied to 125.88 in Year 1 and closed at 149.24 by Year 2.
• S&P 500 (USA): Advanced to 116.28 in Year 1 and 134.62 by Year 2.
• FTSE 100 (Britain): Moved to 115.35 in Year 1 and reached 127.95 by Year 2.
• Euro Stoxx 50 (Eurozone): Stood at 112.90 in Year 1 and rose to 124.02 by Year 2.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average (USA): Rose to 109.05 in Year 1 and finished at 121.02 by Year 2.
• Hang Seng (Hong Kong): Rose initially to 129.63 in Year 1 before easing to 117.32 by Year 2.
• Shanghai Composite (China): Peaked at 120.72 in Year 1 before softening to 117.03 by Year 2.
• Nifty 50 (India): Remained flat at 100.80 in Year 1 before falling to 90.15 by Year 2 (a 9.85% loss).
• Sensex (India): Stood at 100.87 in Year 1 before sliding to 88.96 by Year 2 (an 11.04% loss).
• Jakarta Composite (Indonesia): Rose to 109.99 in Year 1 before slumping to 81.24 by Year 2 (an 18.76% loss).

(Note: Data reflects closes on October 9 of each year; prior closes were utilized for South Korea's Kospi due to market holidays on October 9 in 2024 and 2025, and October 8 closes were used for Kospi and Taiex in 2026).

Asian Semiconductor Hubs Steal the Spotlight

The standout performers over the 24-month horizon were export-oriented, tech-focused Asian economies. South Korea's Kospi delivered extraordinary wealth creation, turning every 100 units into 255.40 units, more than doubling investor outlays. Taiwan's Taiex posted a similarly commanding surge to 217.63 units. Both markets benefited from substantial structural tailwinds in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence hardware infrastructure, and global memory demand.

Developed markets in the United States and Europe also delivered steady, broad-based appreciation. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 50%, while the S&P 500 added 34.62%. Even traditional value-heavy gauges like Britain's FTSE 100 and the Euro Stoxx 50 posted solid double-digit expansions.

Why Indian Markets Lagged

In contrast to the global upswing, domestic benchmarks experienced a sharp reversal after a muted first year. Between October 2024 and October 2025, the Sensex and Nifty remained virtually stagnant, hovering just above par at 100.87 and 100.80 respectively. The subsequent 12-month period saw steady selling pressure, causing both indices to surrender all early gains and slip into negative territory.

The underperformance of Indian equities reflects a confluence of domestic and external headwinds:

• Valuation Compression: Indian equities entered late 2024 trading at historically elevated price-to-earnings multiples, leaving little margin of safety when corporate earnings growth showed signs of normalization.
• Foreign Outflows and Sector Rotation: Global institutional allocators redirected capital toward deeply discounted Asian tech hubs and markets positioned directly in the global supply chain, prompting sustained outflows from Indian large caps.
• Domestic Cyclical Moderation: Pockets of consumption slowdown and margin compression in banking, financial services, and consumer heavyweights weighed heavily on benchmark indices.

The only index to underperform Indian equities across the cohort was Indonesia's Jakarta Composite, which tumbled to 81.24 units, underscoring broader pressures across non-tech emerging Asian markets.

Key Implications for Indian Investors

For Indian retail and institutional market participants, the contrasting trajectories provide critical lessons in geographical allocation:

• Home-Country Bias: Excessive concentration in domestic equity products exposed domestic portfolios to localized drawdowns while missing out on global technological expansions.
• Importance of Global Allocation: International mutual funds and feeder instruments tracking US and developed Asian indices provided a crucial performance buffer during Indian market consolidation.
• Focus on Fundamentals: With the Sensex and Nifty down roughly 10% to 11% from their October 2024 marks, valuation multiples have moderated significantly, setting up a more balanced risk-reward backdrop for long-term domestic equity investors.

Tags: Nifty 50 BSE Sensex Kospi Taiex Nikkei 225 SEBI