Portfolio management services (PMS) company First Global group founder, chairperson and managing director Devina Mehra has advised new investors to be cautious to small cap stocks. New investors do not understand risks related to small cap stocks, Mehra told BTTV, adding that one should limit exposure to them. Mehra said that in 2008-09, the small cap index crashed 78%. In 2018-2019, it slipped 65%. The small cap index churns a lot with constituents changing constantly.
She is positive on Indian markets and said returns in equities can vary over different periods.
On her sectoral pick, Mehra said she was overweight on capital goods and industrial machinery, which has not changed in two years. They are also overweight on auto, auto components, pharma sector and a couple of construction companies.
Meanwhile, Sensex has gained 6.76% this year and risen 6.42% in a year. The 50-stock Nifty rose 7.37% in 2023 and climbed 7.06% in a year. In the current session, benchmark indices were trading lower. Sensex fell 30 points to 64,945 and Nifty lost 9 points to 19,439. Market cap of BSE-listed firms stood at Rs 320.59 lakh crore.
M&M, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Maruti and PowerGrid were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.46% in the afternoon session. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 16 were trading in the green.
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