Shakeout in smallcaps: Divergence likely within the smallcap universe

The two key market indices, the Nifty 50 and Sensex, peaked on September 27 and are down 11 per cent now

Last week, the CNX SmallCap 100 index cracked by 7.3 per cent. The last time the index fell more than this was way back in December 2022 (8.33 per cent). Last week’s decline came after months of churning with the index trying, but unable to head higher. With the benefit of hindsight, the index topped in mid-September last year and has been slowly edging its way down, with big declines in the third week of October (down 6.45 per cent) and early November, followed by the sharp fall last week.  The two key market indices, the Nifty 50 and Sensex,