Union Budget 2024 fears unsettle broad market: Stress lines appear

Blue-chip records mask the quiet erosion in broader indices

Benchmark indices may be hitting new highs, but sentiment towards stocks in the broader market has been doddering over the past two weeks. The advance/ decline ratio (ADR) has remained at 0.85 during this period, reflecting that declining stocks 

have outnumbered those advancing.
 

This trend continues even as blue-chip indices like the S&P BSE Sensex and National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 scale new peaks. Month-to-date, these indices are up over 2 per cent each, while broader market indices — the NSE Nifty Midcap 100 and NSE Nifty Smallcap 100 — have remained flat.
 

On Friday, the ADR