Gold, silver and equities do not always move in tandem. Their performance across the past 26 years shows how differently the three assets have behaved through various market cycles.
Let’s look at how gold, silver, and the Nifty 50 TRI performed from FY01 to FY26, and how the two precious metals have behaved in relation to the equity benchmark.
How has gold performed compared with equity?
Since FY01, gold has generally performed better than equities in financial years when the Nifty 50 TRI delivered negative returns.
According to the HDFC Mutual Fund NFO presentation, gold delivered negative returns in only four of the 26 financial years: FY01, FY14, FY15 and FY17. Its steepest decline was 10.8% in FY14.
At the other end of the spectrum, gold delivered the highest return of 63.3% in FY26, followed by FY25 and FY06.
Here, gold (INR) refers to the return from gold prices measured in Indian rupees, while the Nifty 50 TRI captures both the movement in Nifty 50 stocks and the dividends paid by them.
However, the Nifty 50 TRI delivered negative returns in eight of the 26 financial years. In most of these years, gold remained in positive territory. For example, in FY09, when the Nifty 50 TRI recorded its steepest decline of 35.4%, gold gained 26.8%.
There was just one year in the period when both gold and the Nifty 50 TRI posted negative returns – FY01. Gold fell 1.2%, compared with a 24.2% decline in the Nifty 50 TRI.
How has silver performed compared with equity?
Silver has seen more frequent swings than gold. It delivered negative returns in 11 of the 26 financial years, with its steepest decline of 23.2% in FY14, followed by FY15 and FY18.
At the same time, silver recorded some of the strongest gains among the three asset classes. Its return stood at 127.5% in FY26, the highest in the period, followed by 114.4% in FY11.
However, silver’s relationship with equities has been less consistent. During years when the Nifty 50 TRI declined, silver did not follow a uniform pattern of either rising or falling.
What does the correlation data show?
Correlation measures the extent to which two assets tend to move together.
A figure close to +1 indicates that they generally move in the same direction, while a figure close to -1 indicates that they tend to move in opposite directions. A figure near zero indicates little consistent relationship.
According to the HDFC Mutual Fund NFO presentation, gold had a correlation of -0.04 with the Nifty 50 TRI, while silver had a correlation of 0.08 with the Nifty 50 TRI. (Correlation is considered over the period from 4 January 2000 to 31 July 2026)
Between the two, gold has a lower correlation with equities than silver, although both are very close to zero. This highlights the precious metals diversification benefits and their ability to behave differently from equities during periods of market volatility.
Disclaimer: This is purely for educational/informational purposes and should not be taken as any sort of investment advice. Always consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making any investment decisions.