Around 75 per cent, or 372 stocks, that are part of the BSE500 are trading at least 10 per cent below their all-time high levels, despite the index hitting a record high 20,515 points on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday, surpassing its previous high of 20,390 touched in March 12. The index, which accounts for 93 per cent of BSE listed companies' market capitalisation, has gained 8 per cent from its recent low of 18,983, touched on April 19. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 6 per cent over the same period, but is still nearly 4.5 per cent away from its all-time high of 52,517 that it hit on February 16.
Shares of small-cap companies have been on a roll with the S&P BSE Small-Cap index hitting a new high in intra-day deals on Thursday. The rally has been fueled by an up move in stocks of chemicals, cement, graphite electrode makers, pharmaceuticals and information technology (IT) shares. In the past two weeks, since March 25, the index has outperformed the market by gaining 7.3 per cent. In comparison, the S&P BSE Midcap index was up 6.1 per cent, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 3.6 per cent during the same period.
Thus far in FY21, BSE, NSE have rallied 70 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively.
Analysts attribute the surge to a host of factors, particularly the interest shown by the retail investors in these two market segments.
Analysts attribute this withdrawal trend to the nervousness ahead of US presidential elections and the fact that the markets raced ahead even as the economic recovery remained fragile back home.
The duo bought additional shares in pharmaceutical companies Lupin and Jubilant Life Sciences, along with Agro Tech Foods and NCC during Q2FY21
The S&P BSE 500 index, which accounts for 94% market capitalisation of BSE listed companies, has gained 45% from its March 24 low. However, out of the BSE 500 index stocks, 225 have underperformed the index by gaining less than the broader index during this period.
Among the lot, Rallis India, Escorts, Jubilant Life Sciences, and Crisil added half of the total gains made in the ace stock-picker's portfolio.
Experts say, investors will be better off exiting them at higher levels and investing in stocks of fundamentally sound companies.
Currently, the investor and his family's net worth in listed firms stands at Rs 8,517 crore, compared to Rs 8,388 crore as of March 31, 2020.
The S&P BSE Small-cap index has recovered 26 per cent as compared to a 23 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.
Titan, NCC, Delta Corp, Karur Vysya Bank, Aptech, and Jubilant Life Sciences are among stocks in Jhunjhunwala's portfolio that have taken a severe hit, falling more than 50 per cent during the period.
The bulk of the erosion in terms of value took place in India's most-valued firms. For instance, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries alone has lost Rs 3.8 trillion in m-cap, followed by HDFC Bank, which has seen its value erode by Rs 2.45 trillion and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has lost Rs 1.85 trillion to stand at Rs 6.24 trillion, making it India's most-valued.
While a coordinated aggressive monetary easing from the central banks is most likely to offer some respite in the near-term, it is unlikely to improve the sentiments.
With an m-cap of Rs 31,744 crore, IRCTC stood at 96th position in the overall market capitalisation ranking, the BSE data shows.
In the past two months alone, four companies have garnered a cumulative Rs 22,400 crore via this route.
Out of 11 companies that got listed in 2019, nine have outrun the market by gaining more than 10 per cent against their respective issue price.
Despite the 3 per cent gain in September 2019, the FPI sell-off during the quarter has seen the benchmark indices - the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty 50 register negative returns in Q3CY19.
After turning net buyers for the fifth straight month till June, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net of Rs 11,743 crore ($1.7 billion) in July. This was their highest outflow since October 2018.
Over the past one-and-half years, the number of stocks trading below their respective face value has increased 29 per cent after a sharp correction in stocks of small-cap companies.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances