Small and mid cap stocks crack as markets plunge

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Small and mid cap stocks fell sharply on Wednesday amid a big fall in the broader market.

Small cap index is down 1.7 per cent and mid cap index is down 1.5 per cent.

BSE Sensex is trading at 72,574.68 points, down 520.54 points or 0.71 per cent.

Small and mid cap indices have fallen more than the benchmark index reversing a trend of the past few months.

Among small cap stocks, Eureka Forbes is down 6 per cent, ITDC is down 6 per cent, Arvind Fashions is down 6 per cent, PNC Infra is down 6 per cent, Infibeam Avenues is down 5 per cent, HFCL is down 5 per cent, JP Associates is down 5 per cent.

Among the mid cap stocks, Vodafone Idea is down 12 per cent, GIC Re is down 5 per cent, Yes Bank is down 4 per cent, Indian Bank is down 4 per cent.

Utilities stocks are trading down with the index down more than 2 per cent. NLC India down 5 per cent, KPI Green down 5 per cent, Powergrid is down 3 per cent, JSW Energy is down 3 per cent.

Realty index is down 2.5 per cent. Sobha is down 5 per cent, Godrej Properties is down 4 per cent.

Over the last year, the key benchmark indices Nifty 50, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Small-Cap 100 have delivered returns of 22 per cent, 56 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.

HDFC Securities said in a report that all three mentioned indices seem overvalued at the aggregate level advocating bottom-up stock picking for future returns from here as further expansion of multiples is unlikely.

The report said the extent of overvaluation relative to history is the highest in small caps while on an absolute basis, the mid-cap index is the most overvalued.