Schaeffler India, Blue Star, Concord Biotech: Second-rung stocks outperform large caps; BSE SmallCap index up 1%

According to experts, concerns over a global trade war and the continued selling of Indian equities by foreign institutional investors (FII) have negatively impacted the domestic market.

On the global front, US President Donald Trump announced that 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada would take effect on Tuesday. This has stoked fears of a trade war in North America and sent financial markets reeling.

Further, the US President reaffirmed that he would increase tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20% from the previous 10% levy to punish Beijing for failing to halt shipments of fentanyl to the US.

Reacting to this, China and Canada have announced retaliatory tariffs on the US. Canada has imposed 25% tariffs on $150 billion worth of US imports, while China has announced 10%-15% tariffs on US agriculture imports and is also targeting US firms with retaliatory action, according to a report by BBC.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also vowed to respond to Trump's measures, saying, "We have a plan B, C, D."

At 12:11 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was trading at 72,908.97, down 176.97 points, or 0.24%, while the NSE's NIFTY50 index was trading at 22,059.85, down 59.45 points, or 0.27%.

However, the broader market indices were faring better than their blue-chip counterparts. For instance, the BSE MidCap index was trading at 38,643.69, down 46.33 points, or 0.12%, while the BSE SmallCap index was trading at 43,208.95, up 429.24 points, or 1%.

From the small-cap index, Coffee Day Enterprises was trading 20% higher, while MPS Ltd was up around 16%.

The top contributors to the small-cap index's gains were Blue Star (up 6%), Fortis Healthcare (up over 4%), Jyoti CNC Automation (up over 12%), and Concord Biotech (up over 8%).

Among the midcap names, Schaeffler India shares were trading 5.64% higher at ₹3,264.40 apiece on the BSE. The next gainers on the list were Galaxy Surfactants (up 1.45%) at ₹2,156.50 and Go Digit General Insurance (up nearly 4%).

From its record high of 57,827.69, touched on December 12, 2024, the BSE SmallCap index is currently trading 25% lower.

The BSE MidCap index is trading 22% lower from its record high of 49,701.15, hit on September 24, 2024.

Correction in small, midcap stocks

Former SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch in February said there is "no need" for the capital markets regulator to comment on the steep correction in the small and midcap stocks lately.

Drawing from her statement in March last year on the high valuations in the same stocks, Buch said SEBI had flagged its concerns on the high valuations when it saw a need for it.

"On mid-caps and small caps, I think that at a point in time when the regulator felt the need to make a statement about it, the statement was made. Today, the regulator feels no need to make an additional statement," she said, speaking at an AMFI event.

Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey is now the chairman of the capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as Buch's term ended on February 28.