Investors lose Rs 6 lakh crore as midcap, smallcap stocks plunge
NEW DELHI: Investors saw their wealth eroding by Rs 6 lakh crore on Friday as selling pressure brought down the domestic equity markets, with smallcap and midcap stocks bearing the brunt. Market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies dropped to Rs 431.16 lakh crore from Rs 437 lakh crore in the previous session, a significant loss of Rs 6 lakh crore in a single trading session.
While benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty managed to end Friday with minor losses, supported by a more than 5% surge in index heavyweight TCS, broader indices like the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 tumbled up to 2.60%.
In the midcap segment, major decliners included Hudco, IDBI Bank, Tata Elxsi, Paytm, and Oberoi Realty, each shedding over 5%. In the smallcap pack, losers were Aegis Logistics, Five-Star Business, IFCI, Ircon International, Navin Fluorine, Piramal Pharma, RailTel, and Zee Entertainment.
Year-to-date in CY25, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices have declined by 5% and 6%, respectively, reflecting a challenging period for these segments. The earnings of these entities are unable to match their premium valuation. The Sensex closed 241 points, or 0.31%, lower at 77,378.91, while the NSE Nifty50 ended the session at 23,431.50, down 95 points, or 0.40%.
“Markets continued its downward trajectory as rupee scaling new lows due to strengthening dollar has further dampened investors’ sentiment. Amid concerns of subdued economic growth and expectations of a slowdown in the quarterly earnings, investors cut their bet on banking and mid & small-cap stocks,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.
Tapse added that with expensive valuations of Indian markets at large still a concern, investors would mostly resort to stock-specific activities. The selling pressure was so intense that 264 stocks, including blue chips such as Tata Steel, Coal India and Hero MotoCorp hit their 52-week lows during intraday trade. Of the 4,078 traded stocks, 3,239 closed down on Friday. Except for IT, all other sectors faced selling pressure, with pharma, banking, and realty leading the declines.