Broader market check: Mid- and small-cap indices drop nearly 3% amid market pressure; BDL, Kaynes Tech, Reliance Power lead declines

The mid-cap and small-cap stocks came under pressure on Monday, December 8, amid weak market sentiment. During intraday trade, the broader market underperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 slipping 2.26% and 3%, respectively.

Over the last week, the Nifty Midcap 100 index has declined 3.4%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 has slipped 4%.

The equity benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, continued their downward trend during Monday’s afternoon session, as weak global cues, a weakening rupee and continued foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

The SENSEX declined as much as 0.94% to an intra-day low of 84,906.90. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 reached the session’s low of 25,902.95.

Mid-cap stocks

Opening at the 60,595.60 level, the NIFTY Midcap 100 index touched a high of the 60,673.10 level and a low of 59,220.95 during the intraday period on Monday.

Defence firm Bharat Dynamics was the biggest laggard in the index, slumping 6%. Godrej Properties (-5.87%), HUDCO (5.82%), Prestige Estate Projects (-5.44%), GMR Airports (-5.14%) and Mahindra & Mahindra Finance (-4.82%) were the other top losers on the index.

Realty stocks were trading lower on account of profit booking after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to a three-year low of 5.25% on Friday.

Further, shares of Vodafone Idea (-4.23%), Indian Bank (-3.23%), Bank of India (-4.13%), Union Bank of India (-4.10%), and Premier Energies (-3.97%) were also trading lower.

Meanwhile, PB Fintech (1.27%), Coromandel International (0.28%), Suzlon Energy (0.19%), and Max Financial Services (0.18%) were the only gainers on the index.

Small-cap stocks

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index opened at 17,505.85 on Monday and slipped to an intraday low of 16,990.15, down 3% from its previous close. Its intraday high stood at 17,514.10. By the afternoon session, nearly all stocks on the index were trading in the red.

Kaynes Technologies, Data Patterns and Reliance Power were the top losers on the index, tumbling 12.32%, 6.22%, and 6.18%, respectively.

According to news reports, the decline in Kaynes Tech came after a minor typographical error was identified in one of its subsidiaries. The management clarified that the only mistake was the omission of a related-party disclosure in the notes to accounts, which will now be duly corrected.

Shares of RPower tumbled as the Anil Agarwal firm said in its investor presentation that Reliance NU Energies is powering the shift from plain-vanilla solar to hybrid and firm, round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy.

Shares of Neuland Laboratories (-5.84%), Poonawalla Fincorp (-5.75%), Aditya Birla Real Estate (-5.43%), PG Electroplast (-5.33%) and Aegis Vopak Terminals (-5.32%) were also among the top laggards on the gauge.

On the flip side, shares of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company (0.85%), Aadhar Housing Finance (0.78%) and Narayana Hrudayalaya (0.04%) were the only gainers on the index.