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The Indian equity market has weathered repeated global and domestic shocks over the past four decades, yet maintained a strong long-term upward trajectory.
A historical analysis of the Sensex from 1985 to 2025 by a report from WhiteOak Capital showed that while volatility has been a constant, the benchmark index has grown from below 1,000 levels in 1986 to above 85,000 in 2024. The graph in the report showed sharp declines whenever major crises struck. In the early years, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster (1986) and the Iraq-Kuwait conflict (1990) led to steep corrections, with the Sensex struggling to hold above the 2,000 range. Then Harshad Mehta scam (1992) caused a sudden fall, wiping out early gains. Similarly, the Bombay bomb blasts (1993) and the Barings Bank collapse (1995) triggered noticeable market dips. The late 1990s brought fresh turbulence. The Asian Financial Crisis (1997) saw the Sensex slide back after testing the 4,000 mark, while US sanctions following India's nuclear tests (1998) dragged it again. Then Sensex regained again and even touched 5000 mark in early 2000 but the dot-com bubble burst (2000) and the UTI crisis (2001) further pushed the market down, with levels retreating sharply again below 4000 after earlier peaks. Then in 2004 Sensex again stood up and run continues till 20000 mark but then a dramatic fall was recorded during the global financial crisis of 2008, when the Sensex plunged from over 20,000 to nearly 8,000 within months after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. The Mumbai terror attacks (2008) compounded investor fears. The market later regained strength but saw another correction during the Eurozone debt crisis (2011), when it slipped below 16,000. In the past decade, volatility has intensified but recovery has been swifter. The demonetization shock (2016) and Brexit vote pulled the index lower, though it rebounded quickly. In 2020, the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown triggered one of the steepest drops in recent memory, dragging the Sensex from above 40,000 to nearly 27,000. The second Covid wave (2021) caused another correction after a brief recovery. Despite further disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine war (2022), Hamas-Israel conflict (2023), and the recent Iran-Israel tensions (2024-25), the Sensex surged past 85,000 in 2024 before witnessing profit-booking and corrections which is currently going on. The historical data highlights a clear trend, while crises repeatedly knock the index down, India's equity market has always bounced back stronger. (ANI)
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