Journey of Sensex: From 1,000 to 60,000 in over 31 years

From hitting the 1,000-mark on July 25, 1990 to reaching the 60,000-mark for the first time on Friday, it has been a historic and memorable journey for the benchmark index Sensex.

It has taken a little over 31 years for the Sensex to traverse from 1,000 level to the famed 60,000 level now.

Over the years, the frontline index has climbed several record levels.

The index had reached the 10,000-mark for the first time on February 6, 2006.

On October 29, 2007 it scaled the 20,000 level, then on March 4, 2015, the benchmark hit the 30,000-mark.

The BSE benchmark scaled 40,000 on May 23, 2019.

The 50,000-mark was reached on January 21, 2021.

Interestingly, both the 50,000 level and 60,000 mark have been breached in 2021, showing the resilience of the market amid the COVID-19 devastation.

From witnessing Harshad Mehta scam in 1992, to blasts in Mumbai and BSE building in 1993, Kargil war (1999), terror attacks in the USA and Indian Parliament (2001), Satyam scam, global financial crisis, demonetisation, PNB scam and COVID-19, markets have faced many uncertainties over the years, suggests a slide on "Journey of Sensex" tweeted by BSE CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan on Friday.

Several healthy triggers have also played a major role in market uptrend, with the likes of commodity boom in global markets, global liquidity, COVID-19 vaccine approval and rollout of vaccination programme.

The BSE benchmark index has gained over 25 per cent so far this year.

In August this year, the stock market reached many new highs.

The BSE benchmark soared over 9 per cent last month.

The remarkable rally in the markets holds significance as equities had gone into a tailspin in March 2020, with the BSE benchmark sinking a massive 8,828.8 points or 23 per cent during that month as concerns over the pandemic impact on the economy ravaged investor sentiments.

The BSE benchmark had gained 15.7 per cent in 2020, after facing a roller-coaster ride during the year hit by the pandemic.

"The sentiment on D-street is bullish.

"A dip of a couple of per cent would be a good opportunity for traders and investors to enter.

"We are witnessing broad-based buying from large-caps to mid-caps, and small-caps.

"The euphoria in the market is likely to continue. It may extend till January-February 2022.

"Though the volatility is likely to witness an uptick," said Brijesh Bhatia-Senior Research Analyst at Equitymaster.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters