Nifty crosses 16,000! Take a look at the history and important landmarks of the benchmark index

Zooming almost 245 points or 1.55 percent to breach the significant 16,000 mark, Nifty closed at 16,130.75  points today. Experiencing an upside of 14 percent so far this year, the benchmark index has been on a stupendous rally, inching up 1,000 points in the last six months. We take a look at the history and important landmarks of the iconic index, and how it has multiplied investor wealth over the years!

Tell me more about Nifty

Considered to be the barometer of the Indian economy along with BSE Sensex, this NSE flagship index became functional in April 1996 with a thousand base points, with a base capital of Rs 2.06 trillion. Representing 50 of the largest Indian companies from amongst a pool of almost 1600 on NSE, it comprehensively covers all the major sectors of the economy like banking, automobiles, IT, and more. Turns out, it has also generated immensely good returns for its investors over time. Take a look at the returns generated by the index over time: 

“Markets touching all-time high are a combination of various factors including global liquidity, decent operational performance in multiple sectors, and various government support schemes. However one should not get carried away by the buoyancy in the markets as some signs of stress are visible too”, said Ronak Gala, Fund Manager, AlphaQuest, Tarakki, an online investment app.

With around 525 stocks hitting their 52-week highs, stocks of technology, FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods), and banking and finance-related companies surged substantially. While the Nifty FMCG sector inched up 1.73 percent, the IT index climbed 1.18 percent and the financial services sector grew almost 1.68 percent. Add to that the ongoing roaring IPO rally, a solid uptick in GST collections (which grew 33 percent to reach Rs 1.16 lakh crores), factory activity, and encouraging corporate results, and voila, what we see is a speedily recovering economy and recovering macro-economic indicators that signal towards robust growth in the near future.

And the best way to invest in this exponentially rising market is via SIPs (Systematic Investment Plan), which means that you periodically set aside a specific amount to invest in mutual funds. However, this is a long-term investment route, because you'll need the magic of compounding to generate solid returns in the future. Want to know how this will happen? Assume that you invest Rs 5,000 monthly in the market with an expected return of 10%. So, let's see how much you’d earn if you had started investing in Nifty 50 post all its major landmarks i.e. every time the index breached a crucial thousand-strong milestone.