These 10 large and mid-cap stocks have declined up to 28% in October. Do you own any?

The Indian stock market saw a significant dip in October 2024, with several key companies across sectors experiencing considerable declines in share prices and market capitalisations. This downturn underscores volatile market conditions, as high inflation and uncertain global cues weigh heavily on investor sentiment. Data from ACE Equity shows that while Sensex slipped nearly 5%, select 10 stocks from large and mid-cap space have witnessed up to 28% decline in October.   

IndusInd Bank, a major player in the banking sector, experienced the steepest decline in October. Its share price dropped from Rs 1,448 on September 30, 2024 to Rs 1,038.25 on October 29, marking a 28.3% loss. This translated to a fall in market capitalisation from Rs 1.13 lakh crore to Rs 80,879 crore.

Indraprastha Gas, a leading entity in the gas transmission sector, also saw a sharp decline in value, with its share price decreasing from Rs 558.80 at the end of September to Rs 417.30 by October 29. This drop led to a decrease in market capitalisation from Rs 39,116 crore to Rs 29,211 crore, reflecting a 25.3% drop.

The chemicals sector was impacted as well, with PCBL (formerly known as Phillips Carbon Black) recording a 23.6% decline. Its stock closed at Rs 441.35 on October 29, down from Rs 578.05 at the end of September, causing its market cap to decrease from Rs 21,819 crore to Rs 16,659 crore.

L&T Finance, a major player in the financial sector, faced a similar downturn, with its share price falling by 22.4%, from Rs 185.85 to Rs 144.20. Consequently, its market cap dropped from Rs 46,327 crore to Rs 35,967 crore.

Avenue Supermarts, known for the retail chain D-Mart, also took a hit with a 22.2% loss in share value. Its share price dropped from Rs 5,096.60 to Rs 3,964.15 over the month, and its market cap fell from Rs 3.32 lakh crore to Rs 2.58 lakh crore.

NBCC (India), a key player in the real estate sector, dropped 21.6%, while telecom firm HFCL saw a 21.1% decrease. In the automobile sector, Bajaj Auto’s share price fell from Rs 12,344.05 to Rs 9,849.95, marking a 20.2% decline.

Indian Oil Corporation, the oil giant, experienced a 20% loss, as its stock fell from Rs 180.05 to Rs 144.10. In finance, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company posted a 19.7% decline, with its share price down from Rs 1,608.90 to Rs 1,292.05.

Market Outlook: V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services says, “In the near term the market will be influenced by two factors—one positive and one negative. The positive is the sharp decline in FII selling to just Rs 548 crores yesterday. This is an indication that the FII tactical trade of ‘Sell India, Buy China’ is coming to an end. With more DII and retail money coming to the market and FII selling tapering off, the market may get a near-term boost, aided by the festive mood.”

Vijayakumar adds that the uptrend is unlikely to sustain since the Q2 earnings numbers indicate softness in earnings for FY25. The consensus earnings estimates are likely to be revised down by most brokerages. With Nifty now trading at about 24 times FY25 estimated earnings, there is no valuation comfort in the market. This negative factor will cap the rally driven by domestic money.

“Investors should focus on fairly valued large caps where earnings visibility is good. This trend is already evident in the price action yesterday which saw Bank Nifty move up by 2.07% in contrast to Nifty’s  0.52% up move." Vijayakumar said.