100 days of Note ban

TIL Desk Business/ New Delhi/ It’s been 100 days since demonetisation and the stock markets have emerged largely unscathed. The benchmark Sensex and Nifty and the broad-based BSE 500 indices are all currently three per cent above their November 8, 2016, close, when the government decided to recall the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which comprised 86 per cent of the currency in circulation.

These indices had tumbled between six and 10 per cent after demonetisation amid Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the US presidential elections, triggering a flight of capital from markets like India. Even the rupee, which was seen nearing 69 against the dollar amid a sharp $10-billion capital outflow from the domestic market, is now at 67, almost close to its November 8 level.

Stocks in real estate, fast-moving consumer goods, automobile and non-banking finance companies (NBFC) were among the worst-hit, tumbling anywhere between 20 per cent and 40 per cent on fears that the cash crunch would hurt demand. Most of the shares in the space have substantially recovered lost ground.