Journey of Sensex: 36,000 on way up and 36,000 on way down

There is a saying in the equity market when the market goes up, it goes by a staircase, however, when it comes down it takes an elevator. We are currently witnessing the same unfolding now. First time Sensex touched 36,000 in the month of January 2018, however, after that, it declined,  post the union budget. The next time it touched 36,000 is in the month of July 2018, after a gap of 168 days.

The journey of the next 2,000 points by Sensex that is from 36,000 to 38,000 took 66 days. Nonetheless, it took only 17 days to touch 36,000 again. This shows how fast the market came down while it takes its own sweet time to climb up.

The fall at the Sensex level might hide the bloodbath that the broader market has gone through in the last 17 days when Sensex fell from 38,000 level to 36,000. This is evident from how individual companies have performed between July 10, when Sensex touched 36,000 and October 1 when Sensex once again touched 36,000.

For every single company whose price has increased between these dates, there are little more than three companies that saw fall in their prices. The below table speaks for itself.

Number of companies, BSE Group and change in their price between July 10 and October 2018

The above analysis clearly shows it takes a while to climb the market, however, in no time it comes down.