Profit-booking continues in Indian markets; Adani stocks, small-, mid-caps decline

BENGALURU: Indian blue-chip shares fell on Monday, as broad-based profit booking continued, after logging their worst week in five months on Friday, while small- and mid-caps extended losses on valuation concerns.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index lost 0.24% to 21,970.80, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.16% to 72,528.30, as of 10:00 a.m. IST.

The Nifty fell 0.56% on Friday and 2.09% last week and has now lost about 2.5% since hitting an all-time high on March 11.

“The domestic markets fell significantly last week largely due to the meltdown in over-valued small- and mid-caps, which spilled over to large-caps as well,” said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research. While profit-booking could continue, large-caps are likely to be resilient, with the Nifty consolidating near 22,000, Chokkalingam said.

The small- and mid-caps lost 0.5% each on the day.

They posted their worst week in 15 months on Friday, after the markets regulator warned of froth in the segments and stress test results indicated wide disparity in how long mutual funds would take to liquidate their portfolios in case of a tumble.

Eight of the 13 major sectors logged losses, with information technology shedding 0.5%.

The drop in the US rate-sensitive sector comes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting that ends on Wednesday, which will be monitored for clues on when the central bank will cut rates.

Adani group companies dropped 1%-5%, with Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports losing about 4% each – the most on the Nifty 50.

India’s small-, mid-caps post worst week in 15 months; blue-chips drop 2% each

The US has widened its probe into the group to focus on the conduct of its founder, Gautam Adani, and whether the conglomerate may have engaged in bribery for favourable treatment on an energy project, Bloomberg News reported.

Paytm gained 5%, adding to its 5% gain in the previous session after it got regulatory approval to continue processing digital payments.