As many as two-thirds of the BSE-200 index companies have outperformed the BSE benchmark Sensex so far this calendar year as attractive valuations have made investors bullish on the mid-cap segment. Sectors, such as healthcare, consumer, banking and financial services, infrastructure, have led the gains.
According to Bloomberg, 131 of the BSE top 200 companies have given better returns than the Sensex in the current calendar year. The Sensex has clocked a return of 10.7% since January this year. According to market experts, the segment is gaining on account of valuations that are well below the long-term average, indicating an excellent buying opportunity.
?The equity markets from a valuation perspective have been in the below long-term average range and were seen as a buying opportunity from a long-term perspective,? said Sudhakar Shanbhag, chief investment officer, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance.
?Global developments have been keeping the markets on its toes. Before the interest rate reversal is seen, the positive hopes for the market have been from policy actions and FII flows,? he added.
Stocks like Wockhardt top the list in the y-t-d gains. The Mumbai-based leading pharmaceutical contract and biotechnology manufacturer has given returns of a staggering 228.80% so far this calendar followed by Jet Airway, which has given y-t-d returns of 116.60%. Other notable scrips include Dena Bank with a gain of 107.9% followed by Indiabulls Financial Services (80.33%), IVRCL (58.09%), UCO Bank (72.34%) and HDIL (61.91%). The BSE-200 index has risen 264.30 points or 14.28% so far this calendar year. Of the total gains in the index, HDFC Bank ? with year-to-date gains of 36.49% has contributed 27.45 points.
ICICI Bank has added 25.93 points, tobacco-to-consumer giant ITC has chipped in with 25.92 points, while engineering and infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India complete the top five with a contribution of 19.81 and 14.99 points, respectively.
Further, data shows that 69 scrips, or one-third of the BSE-200 index companies, have underpeformed the broader index of which, 31 scrips have given negative returns.
Bangalore-based software and services major Infosys has been the worst performer this year. It has lost 21.43% so far this calendar year that has resulted in the BSE-200 index losing 27.04 points followed by Bharti Airtel, which has resulted in the BSE-200 losing 2.97 points.