Over 25 smallcap stocks gain between 20-65% as index hits record-high; Balaji Telefilms, UCO Bank among gainers

On the stock-specific front, Schneider Electric Infra, UCO Bank, Balaji Telefilms, Parag Milk Foods, Olectra Greentech, Punjab & Sind Bank, Triveni Turbine, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Limited, EIH Ltd, SMC Global, ASM Technologies, Kalyani Steels, Kriti Industries, Kirloskar Oil, Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd, and others are among the smallcaps that logged a double-digit rise in their share prices last week.

Markets’ Weekly Print

Markets traded lackluster in a range and settled with A marginal cut, in continuation to the prevailing consolidation phase of markets. After the muted start, Nifty 50 oscillated on both sides, tracking mixed trends in the heavyweights across sectors. 

Also Read: Dividend Stocks: Nestle India, Power Grid, ONGC, among others to trade ex-dividend next week; check full list

The sectoral moves kept the traders busy wherein pharma, energy, and realty performed well while pressure continued in FMCG and banking. The broader indices also traded mixed and midcap managed to gain nearly a per cent, according to market experts.

“When valuations are high, the bears will use any negative news to drag the market down,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, referring to “slightly hawkish comments” from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor on Thursday.

The RBI kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, as expected, and signaled rate cuts may not be imminent. The BSE benchmark fell by 723.57 points or one per cent to settle at 71,428.43 on Thursday amid uncertainty about the timing of interest rate reduction after the RBI policy decision. The Nifty declined by 212.55 points or 0.97 per cent to 21,717.95.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark declined 490.14 points or 0.67 per cent, and the Nifty dipped 71.3 points or 0.32 per cent. The broader, more-domestically focused small-caps closed flat, while mid-caps added 0.85 per cent for the week. Both indexes logged their worst session in more than two weeks on Friday.

Among individual stocks, fintech major Paytm declined most throughout the week, down 45 per cent since January 31, when the RBI ordered its banking arm to stop business. Financials stocks shed 1.13 per cent for the week. They have dropped roughly six per cent since January 16, when top private lender HDFC Bank posted disappointing quarterly results. 

Consumer stocks dropped 2.27 per cent for the week, led by a 5.7 per cent drop in heavyweight ITC, which posted its worst week since October 2021. Information technology (IT) stocks, however, added one per cent for the week after resilient services and labour market data raised hopes of a soft landing for the US economy — a key source of revenue for the sector.

Oil & gas stocks added about four per cent for the week, helped by sustained post-results rally in oil marketing companies like Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporatio Ltd (HPCL).

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were buyers for three out of five sessions last week with a total divestment of ₹5,871.45 crore, while domestic institutional investors also bought for three sessions with a total investment of ₹5,325.76 crore, according to stock exchange data.

‘’Mid and small caps had witnessed strong rallies over the past few months thus making valuations a little stretched. However, buying was seen in large caps where there is still some comfort,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

more to come

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.

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Published: 10 Feb 2024, 09:23 PM IST