Small-cap stocks have been on a roll since the past few months with the S&P BSE Smallcap index hitting a record high of 20,290 points in Thursday’s intra-day trade. The index surpassed its previous high of 20,183 touched on January 15, 2018 in intra-day deals. Despite the index hitting record levels, analysts see more headroom for the stocks in this segment as the economic recovery gathers steam, which they believe, should be beneficial for companies in the mid-and small-cap space. Moreover, the accommodative stance of most global central banks amid low interest rates will ensure that money continues to flow into emerging markets (EMs), including India. Though there can be an intermittent correction, stock selection will be key, they say.
Led by losses in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, private lenders and select IT stocks, benchmark indices extended their losses to the fourth day on Wednesday. Weak global markets, a mixed set of Q3 earnings and selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) dented the domestic market mood in today s session. Meanwhile, investors chose to book profits ahead of the Union Budget on Monday, February 1. The BSE barometer Sensex plunged 938 points to 47,410 while its NSE counterpart Nifty slipped below the 14,000 mark to end at 13,968, down 271 points. The broader market trend was mixed with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty 500 indices down 1.58 per cent and 1.68 per cent, respectively, while Nifty Smallcap index added 0.15 per cent.