Business News

Mumbai: It's official. NSE's micro-cap and small-cap indices have entered a bear market after tumbling over 20% from their peaks in 2024 with the panic deepening in the country's smaller share segments. Typically, when an index falls uninterrupted by over 20% from its highs, it is considered to be in a bear zone. Since September 27, the Nifty Smallcap 250 and Microcap 250 indices have plunged 21.4% and 20.2%, respectively, while the Nifty Midcap Index has slumped 17.7% in the same period.While the 20% decline in both the indices was touched in the past two trading sessions, many small-cap, micro-cap and penny stocks had already dropped between 30% and 80% earlier as the unrelenting foreign selling sparked one of the worst slumps in the country's stock market since March 2020. 118342305"The fall in the indices is not giving a clear picture as the majority of the individual stocks have corrected more sharply than the indices," said Aniruddha Sarkar, chief investment officer at Quest Investment Advisors.Over 100 stocks from the Smallcap and Microcap indices have tumbled 10-30% since September 27. The number of stocks that fell 30-50% was 79 and 80 from the Smallcap index and the Microcap index, respectively.

Mumbai: The sharp selloff in Indian equities in the past five months hasn't spared many of the big hitters. Some of the country's better-known individual investors have borne the brunt of the steep declines in share prices-mainly of smaller companies-with values of their equity portfolios eroding by as much as 25% since January 1 and about 30% since October 1. The value of top 10 individual investors is down by a total of nearly ₹81,000 crore since October 1 though some have managed to minimise the damage. DMart founder Radhakishan Damani has seen value of his holdings shrink by ₹64,000 crore, or 28%, since October 1, falling from ₹2.31 lakh crore to ₹1.67 lakh crore, according to primeinfobase.com data. 118342231Shares of Avenue Supermarts, his flagship company, have dropped 27%, while his second-largest investment, Trent, has plunged 32% during this period. Since October 1, the Nifty has fallen 11%, while the Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap indices have declined 17% and 22%, respectively, amid foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloading Indian equities worth over Rs 2.5 lakh crore. Beneath the surface, the damage is deeper with several smallcap and penny stocks plunging between 30% and 80%. The late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s family portfolio has declined 19% since October 1, excluding the recently listed Inventurus Knowledge Solutions, in which the family holds a 49.54% stake valued at Rs 14,400 crore. 118342939Including this holding, the family’s total portfolio value stood at around Rs 59,709 crore. Akash Bhanshali’s portfolio has eroded by 16% since October, with Gujarat Fluorochemicals losing 13%, while his second-largest investment, One 97 Communications (Paytm’s parent), has gained 5% during this period.Former investment banker-turned entrepreneur Hemendra Kothari has seen a 29% decline in his wealth from listed firms. His two top holdings—Alkyl Amines Chemicals and Sonata Software—have plummeted 28% and 33%, respectively, since October 1. Some investors such as Mukul Agrawal, Ashish Kacholia and Yusuffali Kader have weathered the storm and managed to limit their losses to single digits. Mukul Agrawal of Param Capital saw a 6% decline in his portfolio, aided by a 40% surge in BSE shares since October 1. His other two top holdings, Neuland Laboratories and Radico Khaitan, have remained flat during this period.

The selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). The committee, comprising Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, had earlier recommended the name of the new CEC to President Droupadi Murmu.Dr. Vivek Joshi, IAS of the 1989 batch, was also appointed as Election Commissioner, with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.The decision comes as the incumbent CEC, Rajiv Kumar, is set to retire on February 18, 2025, upon attaining the age of 65 years.Also Read: Who is Gyanesh Kumar, India’s new Chief Election Commissioner?Gyanesh Kumar, the current senior-most election commissioner, remains in office with a tenure extending until January 26, 2029 and has become the 26th CEC of India.This appointment marks the first major implementation of the new law governing the selection of the CEC and Election Commissioners (ECs), which was enacted last year. Under this law, a search committee shortlists five senior bureaucrats for consideration by the prime minister-led selection panel, departing from the previous practice of automatically elevating the senior-most election commissioner to the role of CEC.Also Read: Who is Vivek Joshi, India’s new election commissioner?Meanwhile, the Congress has raised objections to the selection process, citing the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the panel. Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi urged the government to postpone the appointment until the Supreme Court hears a pending petition on February 19 regarding the constitutionality of the new selection process.With Rajiv Kumar’s retirement, an additional election commissioner may also be appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy.

India's exports to the US rose by 39 per cent year-on-year to USD 8.44 billion in January, while imports grew by 33.46 per cent to USD 3.57 billion, according to the commerce ministry data. Cumulatively, the country's exports to the US during April-January grew by 8.95 per cent to USD 68.46 billion against USD 62.84 billion in the same period previous fiscal, the data showed. During 2021-24, America was the largest trading partner of India. The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. In 2023-24, the US was the largest trading partner of India with USD 119.71 billion bilateral trade in goods (USD 77.51 billion worth of exports, USD 42.19 billion of imports and USD 35.31 billion trade surplus). The increasing trade assumes significance as the two countries are aiming at USD 500 billion two-way commerce by 2030 and a trade agreement.