Happy 2025: Five new-year resolutions for smarter equity investing

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : India's stock market had another winning year, but the gloss of 2024 came with cautionary tales. A ninth straight year of gains for the Nifty 50, up 9%, extended the benchmark’s unprecedented streak.

Yet, the glow dimmed compared to 2023’s heady performance, with gains halved across benchmarks, small caps, and midcaps. Beneath the surface, pockets of turbulence humbled trend-chasers, offering hard-earned lessons to new investors. Read this | Bullrun, bullshit and other market lessons of 2024 The year saw overhyped names crash and underdogs rise.

Public frenzy turned bitter for many, while those who moved with precision thrived. As investors look ahead to 2025, here are five resolutions to safeguard capital and sanity in an unpredictable market. If 2024 proved anything, it was the triumph of Davids over Goliaths.

Small and midcap stocks enjoyed exceptional demand, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gaining 24%, trouncing the broader benchmark. Yet, the rally wasn't universal. A quarter of small-cap index constituents ended in the red, including familiar names like Bata, Tata Teleservices, Zee, Jyothy Labs, and PVR.

Public sector enterprises told a similar tale. The Nifty PSE index surged 22% last year, but in the second half, all constituents except HPCL posted losses. The message was clear: trends can lead to blind alleys.

Spot opportunities; don’t chase fads. Ola Electric’s blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) was a textbook lesson in market frenzy. The ₹6,154-crore issue in mid-2024 unfolded like a much-hyped Tollywood hit—featuring a larger-than-life protagonist, a cultish following, and mass hysteria.