However, several stocks managed to not just outperform the benchmark index by a wide margin but some even turned multibaggers this year.
An analysis of the market performance on a year-to-date basis showed that 18 stocks have given more than 50% returns so far in 2023. Of this, four of them have turned multibaggers.
For analysis purposes, ETMarkets considered only those companies that have a market capitalisation of more than Rs 500 crore.
Year-to-date, Nifty50 has lost over 1%. The losses have been narrowed, thanks to the eight consecutive sessions of gains on the back of $1 billion inflows from foreign institutional investors.
Stocks that have given stellar returns this year include Finolex Cables, Cigniti Technologies, Jindal Saw, Sonata Software, Sterling Tools, Nucleus Software Exports, Shilchar Technologies, and Goyal Aluminiums. These stocks have risen 50-85%.
Meanwhile, Mold-Tek Technologies, WPIL Ltd, EFC (I), and K&R Rail Engineering have risen 100-500% in 2023.
Shares of Finolex Cables have risen 54% so far this year and scaled a lifetime high of Rs 848.95 on April 10. The stock is trading over 27 times its 12-month trailing earnings, which is higher than industry average, according to Trendlyne.
Rajesh Palviya, VP – technical and derivatives research, Axis Securities recommends investors to hold on to their long positions in the stock as the trend remains bullish.
“The positive placement of all 20, 50, 100, and 200-day smart moving averages (SMAs), along with rising prices, reconfirms the bullish sentiment. Any short-term profit booking or a small correction towards the crucial support zone of Rs 750-700 levels remains a buy-and-accumulate opportunity,” he said.
The price structure of Finolex Cables also resembles the “rounding bottom” formation, indicating the continuation of the prior uptrend, providing an upside towards Rs 930-1000 levels.
Another major stock on the list is Sonata Software, which has gained close to 60% YTD, and scaled a lifetime high of Rs 902.95 on Tuesday. The stock has beat many of its midcap peers, having risen more than 6 times in the last 3 years.
But is there more steam left for this rally in the stock?
Palviya said that the strong upmove that the stock has seen from Rs 750 levels on the back of huge volumes signals increased participation in the counter.
While the short, medium, and long-term averages are also inching up, which remains a positive sign, it is advisable for traders to book partial profits at current levels, Palviya said.
Any short-term correction towards Rs 800-740 levels can open up the opportunity to re-enter the stock, and the upside potential in the upcoming weeks is Rs 950-1,000 levels.
Compared to the largecap stocks, smallcap stocks have seen a steeper correction over the last 1 year.
This has made valuations attractive in some pockets, but a lot of stocks in the smallcap segment are still trading at high valuations. Therefore, market experts recommend staying extremely selective and looking for stocks which offer both growth and value.
(With data inputs from Ritesh Presswala)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)
