'So, what does one believe -- just 6 stocks that are pushing the indices higher or the 600 scrips that are reflecting economic pain?'

In the past two months alone, four companies have garnered a cumulative Rs 22,400 crore via this route.

A recent report by Citi had pegged the total amount stuck in stalled projects across seven major Indian cities (Bengaluru, Mumbai Metropolitan region, National Capital Region, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune) at Rs 80,000 crore.

'The announcement has come too late. This should have been done years ago.'

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.

So far in September, the S&P BSE Small-cap index has gained nearly 3 per cent as compared to a modest 0.2 per cent dip in the S&P BSE Sensex.

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.

An analysis of past 20 years' demand cycles done by Edelweiss Securities indicates that the auto sector is currently in the middle of a down cycle. Volume recovery, they say, is unlikely to be as sharp as in the past, unless there is strong fiscal support.

The proposal to increase public float, hike income tax surcharge, move to tax share buybacks and lack of stimulus to shore up economic growth has hurt investor sentiment.

Prices in Bengaluru, the National Capital Region, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, however, witnessed an uptick during the period.

Liquidity issues post the crisis at DHFL, progress of monsoon, rupee trajectory at the domestic level and oil prices are some factors that will keep markets choppy, analysts say.

The liquidity crisis at Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) has dented the fortunes of ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who increased his stake in the troubled company in the March 2019 quarter (Q4FY19).

Foreign investors, according to them, will now wait-and-watch how the economy takes shape in the backdrop of doubts over monsoon, interest rate trajectory and other global events such as the US - China trade war.

Traditionally, most PSUs have been cash-rich, which added to their value. However, the government has been tapping regularly into their cash resources to boost revenue for the exchequer

The surge in oil prices has also affected the rupee, which hit a 6-week low of 70.25 on Friday against the dollar.

Going ahead, experts say, the fundraising trend in the primary market will depend on how the secondary market performs against the backdrop of the outcome of general elections and global cues.

With the frontline Indian benchmark indices trading near all-time highs ahead of the general elections that begin later this week, Marc Faber, Editor and Publisher of "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report" tells Puneet Wadhwa that the Indian stock market is relatively expensive, especially the index (large-cap) stocks.

There will be pressure on the fiscal situation, especially at a time when the monsoon can also disappoint. More populist expenditure is on cards if the mandate is a hung Parliament or a coalition government.

Even though stocks may remain volatile in the run-up to the polls, as political parties stitch up alliances, the long-term trajectory for the markets remains bullish.

While RCom owes Indian banks close to Rs 45,000 crore, Ambani has lost close to $408 million of personal wealth year-to-date until Tuesday.

The underperformance comes amid liquidity concerns in the non-banking finance companies space and Essel Group default news.

The government is expected to dole out some populist policies, especially for the rural / farm sector while presenting the interim budget, given that the country is heading towards general elections over the next few months.

'The probability of another negative year in 2019 is low.'

Of these 26, Bajaj Finance, Associated Alcohols and Breweries, Garware Technologies, Filatex India, Tasty Bite Eatables, Aarti Industries and GMM Pfaudler saw an over 10-fold surge in price since 2014.

Analysts caution a non-BJP government is not an impossible scenario. In case of a Modi-led coalition, they advise investors to focus on discretionary consumption, select private banks and financials, RIL, housing, and IT.

Mahesh Nandurkar, executive director and India Strategist at CLSA, talks to Puneet Wadhwa ahead of their 21st India Forum on his interpretation of how the markets have played out over the past few months, the road ahead, and his sector preferences in this backdrop.

The polls are being viewed as a run-up to the general elections scheduled for May 2019 and will test the popularity of the government and its policies amid rising crude oil prices

Since last month, the realty (down 23%), auto (down 16%) and finance (down 14%) indices have underperformed the market by falling over 13%, as against 8% decline in the benchmark indices

Even as rising crude oil prices, trade war fears and a sliding rupee cast a shadow on market sentiment, Nischal Maheshwari, chief executive officer for institutional equities and advisory at Centrum Broking, tells Puneet Wadhwa that in the next one year, the outcome of the 2019 general election is a bigger challenge for the market.

The recent three-bank merger seems to be grossly negative for Vijaya Bank and Bank of Baroda in the short term, as the negative net worth of Dena Bank will have to be absorbed by the merged entity

Stretched valuations and slowdown in DII flows are some of the reasons why Goldman Sachs cut its India rating to 'market-weight'

Mark Mobius, co-founder, Mobius Capital Partners, tells Puneet Wadhwa that investors should concentrate more on "value" rather than momentum, and on good small- and medium-sized companies rather than large-caps.

While Mcleod Russel, ADF Foods, Indiabulls Real Estate, DCM Shriram and BSE have announced buyback through open market route, the remaining 23 companies plan to buy back their shares via tender offers

High networth individuals selling stocks to buy real estate is among the key risks for the Indian markets.

The BSE Midcap index has declined 5.7% thus far in May 2018. In comparison, the S&P BSE Small-cap index has lost 5.6%

Analysts attribute this outperformance to the government's proactive economic reform measures

Rising oil prices, sharp slowdown in mutual fund inflows and steep valuations remain the key risks for Indian investors going ahead.

'The economy needs to deliver the expected 7.5% growth for the markets to deliver better than single digit returns.' 'Any disappointment in growth can see the markets correcting downwards.'