New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS): In January 2024, Nifty Microcap 250 emerged as the best performing Index with an impressive growth of 9.9%, according to a report by Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company.

The Index has been performing well since the past year and has given 26.8%, 41.9%, 88.7% growth during the last 3 months, 6 months and one year, respectively.

In January 2024, Nifty Smallcap 250 has given 7.28% growth and it is the best performing index after Nifty Microcap 250. The Index has given 25.2%, 32.7%, 62.6% growth during the last 3 months, 6 months and one year, respectively.

Nifty 50 declined by 0.03% in January 2024. However, the index has shown positive growth since past year, the report said.

Building on last month's positive trend, the energy sector once again took the lead with a robust 9.8% increase. The bank index experienced a notable downturn and was the worst performer with a substantial decline of 4.8%.

Contrary to the previous month where it held the highest contribution, the Financial Services sector turned into the worst contributor, negatively impacting the overall returns of the Nifty 500 index by 0.8%, the report said.

All the emerging markets indices saw negative performance, with China being the worst performer at 10.6%. As far as developed markets are concerned, Japan emerged as the best performer at 4.6%.

Crude oil prices have started picking up again and rose by 6.3% during January due to Red Sea tensions, reduction in US oil inventories and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Gold & Silver prices witnessed a fall of 1.2% and 2.9% respectively. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum ended on a flat note, the report said.