It is exactly a little over five years now, since the equity markets cracked to the lowest point of the last decade, on March 23, 2020, thanks to the uncertainty brought around by Covid. But with things returning to normalcy, the bounce back in equities has been one of the strongest in the history.

We analyse below the relative performance of the benchmark Nifty50 index against various facets and factor-based indices to assess its positioning and risk-return dynamics.

Giants underperform

Four of the top five companies in March 2020, based on market capitalisation — TCS, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Infosys, except for Reliance Industries — underperformed relative to the benchmark Nifty 50. HUL and Infosys, which were fourth and fifth on the list, were even dropped out of the top five as of March 2025, and replaced by Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank, outperforming the former with returns of 335 per cent and 370 per cent respectively.

Sector-wise weights within Nifty 50

The top five sectors within the Nifty 50 index, ranked by their assigned weights, maintained their positions in March 2025, unchanged from March 2020. However, their respective weightings fluctuated over the period, thanks to the varied sectoral performances amidst changing market dynamics, both domestic and global.

Sectoral indices largely outperform Nifty 50

Amongst the sectoral indices, metals was the leading performer from the trough. And except for Nifty Bank and Nifty FMCG, all other indices also beat Nifty 50 over the five-year period.

Strategy themes prove competitive

Nifty200 Value 30, picking value stocks from the lot, beat Nifty 50 through the course of the five-year period. Nifty Alpha 50, which picks stocks with the highest alpha (meaning excess returns over the benchmark), Nifty100 Low Volatility, which picks the least volatile stocks (based on standard deviation), and Nifty200 Momentum 30, which picks stocks based on a momentum score (six-month and 12-month price return adjusted for volatility) also outperformed Nifty 50. However, Nifty200 Quality 30, which focuses on fundamental factors to pick stocks, underperformed during this five-year period.