Ankit Shah, an Ahmedabad-based investor, was not overly excited when the Sensex crossed the 13,000 mark on Monday.
Sanat Vallikappen & Himansh Dhomse
MUMBAI?AHMEDABAD: Ankit Shah, an Ahmedabad-based investor, was not overly excited when the Sensex crossed the 13,000 mark on Monday.
Like thousands of retail investors, he has bet on mid- and small-caps stocks, where there is not much to show by way of gains.
On Monday, the Sensex closed above the 13,000 milestone for the first time, ending 0.91 per cent up at 13,024.26 points, a gain of 117.45 points.
Meanwhile, the BSE Mid-cap Index ended with marginal gains of 0.49 per cent and the BSE Small-cap Index declined by 0.56 per cent.
This, in a way, mirrors what has been happening with these stocks over the past few months.
While the Sensex has been touching new highs every other day, it has been a rally based on a few stocks. The larger number of small- and mid-cap shares has been languishing.
In fact, in the period when the Sensex ran up from 12,000 to 13,000 points, gaining 8.18 per cent in the process, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices have delivered negative returns of -3.41 per cent and -7.35 per cent.
No wonder Shah is disenchanted. “I am concerned with small- and mid-cap stocks, where I’ve parked my money,” he said. “If they don’t go up, it doesn’t bother me even if the Sensex crosses 15,000.”
But will the Sensex continue scaling new highs?
“Global markets have been falling since Friday, and if their downside momentum gathers steam, then the Indian markets could also crack,” said Deepak Mohoni, managing director, trendwatchindia.com. “In any case, the gains of Friday and Monday have been confined to a few stocks.”
Mohoni said, however, that if global markets start rising again, there could be another broad-based short-term rally.
Mohoni advises investors not to be unduly thrilled by the number 13,000. “If one is taking a medium- or long-term view, it is best to wait for a dip to park your money in equities,” he said.
A correction cannot be too far away, as the rally has been going on since the end of July. But as has been the case in the past, the markets tend to defy logic, often leaving even the experts stunned.
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