Mid-cap index hits new high; small-cap nears record high

Mid-and-small cap stocks continued their upward march, with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) S&P BSE Midcap index touching fresh record highs and S&P BSE Smallcap index approaching lifetime highs.

The BSE midcap index has touched a fresh record high of 11,303 in intra-day trades today, while the smallcap index has hit an intra-high of 11,830. 

The S&P BSE Sensex index is, however, still 7% away from its all-time high touched in early March this year. The smallcap index hit a record high of Rs 14,239 in intra-day trade on January 8, 2008.

Since June 11, when the Sensex hit a recent low of 26,371, the midcap and smallcap indices have surged by 12% each; the Sensex has gained 6% during the period.

About 309 stocks have rallied more than 50% since June 11, out of which 57 have appreciated more than 100%. The list includes JMT Auto, GM Breweries, Uniply Industries, Saregama India, Himatsingka Seide and NIIT.

Meanwhile, 159 stocks have touched 52-week high, out of which 78 scrips have hit their respective lifetime highs on the BSE.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Godrej Consumer Products, CCL Products, Bajaj Finserv, Wabco India, IndusInd Bank, GM Breweries and Navin Fluorine International are trading at record highs after reporting strong set of numbers for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 (Q1).

The government of India on Thursday notified new norms, putting in place composite foreign investment limits for all sectors other than banking and defence. The decision will allow greater flexibility to foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in multi brand retail, allowing them to invest up to 49% without having to seek government approval, according to media report.

Since June 11, FIIs and domestic mutual funds have made net investments of Rs 14,076 crore in equities, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) data shows.