FII outflow: Indian markets see worst quarter ever

Indian equities, battered with the coronavirus scare and threat to the financial system, have marked their worst-ever quarterly performance, surpassing the bloodbath in the third quarter of the financial year 2008-09 when the global financial crisis crippled the world economy.

In the quarter ending March 31, 2020, the 30-share BSE Sensex lost 28.6 per cent, 370 bps more compared with a 25 per cent loss in the third quarter of the FY09. On the other hand, the broader index 50-share NSE Nifty shred 29.34 per cent during the just-concluded quarter, 481 bps more loss than the 24.53 per cent loss in the third quarter of the FY09.

The rout in the financial markets was led primarily by foreign funds, who withdrew a net of an unprecedented Rs 84,000 crore (over $11 biillion) from Indian equities in the span of three months.

The loss has been bigger since January 16, when both indices touched their respective life high. Since then, the equity investors have lost almost one-third of their holdings in the Indian equity markets -- Rs 47 lakh crore.

Such has been the bloodbath in the equity markets for the past two months that the current bear run has led markets to witness their worst financial year after 2008-09, when the entire year fell the prey to the global financial crisis and the subsequent recession.

During the full year, the equity investors have lost a quarter of their wealth as benchmark indices collapsed by 24 per cent despite the fact that markets witnessed an unprecedented bull run for seven of the 12 months in the bygone financial year.