In the wake of the recent turbulence in global markets and slow progress on reforms, about a third of the BSE 500 stocks fell to levels that were witnessed during Manmohan Singh's regime.
Nearly 176 stocks in the BSE 500 index, which accounts for more than 90% of overall market capitalisation of BSE, have shed all the gains posted after the Narendra Modi-led government came to power in May last year.
Besides, stock prices of over 10% of companies in the index have now been reduced to half in the past 15 months.
"There was a bubble in many stocks that led to a big misalignment in their market valuations and underlying fundamentals. This is now getting corrected and the process could go on for some more time if the global financial environment remains choppy," G Chokkalingam, founder & CEO of Equinomics Research & Advisory, told Business Standard.
The major losers include companies in infrastructure, metal manufacturing, power generation, sugar, real estate, and oil & gas. Infrastructure companies, which are supposed to be the main "beneficiaries of the Modi government's infra spending push", have also witnessed losses.
Stock prices of Bhushan Steel, the largest auto-grade steel maker in India, have declined by 87.5% as compared to prices on 26 May, last year. Similarly, share prices of Jaypee Associates are now trading at all-time lows of Rs 9.75, having lost 87% since the BJP-led government came to power.
However, the benchmark indices' performance are in contrast to the picture at the component level, as they are "still in the green" as compared to the levels before Modi assumed charge as PM of India.
While the Sensex has posted a gain of 6.8% during the past 15 months, the NSE Nifty index rose by 8.7%.
"Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) largely own the index and large-cap stocks; their selling explains the fall in benchmark indices. Mutual funds and retail investors, however, continue to accumulate mid-caps. If they begin to lose confidence or if MFs face redemption pressure, we can see more pain in non-index stocks," said Nitin Jain, head of global asset & wealth management group at Edelweiss Capital.
