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Small and mid cap stocks were under severe pressure in the week gone by following Sebi chief's warning over stretched valuations in the broader market. This was reflected in the performance as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices lost over 4% each.The broader market had outperformed the benchmark indices over the past one year even as there were pockets of concern around the one way rally.In what is a steep fall from the preceding week, only four smallcap stocks have delivered double-digit returns during the week. In contrast, around 16 smallcap stocks gained in double-digits in the previous week.Hercules Hoists was the top gainer in the smallcap pack, offering a rare 15% rally amid chaos. It was followed by Astec Lifesciences and Cigniti Technologies, whose shares rose just over 12% in the week ended March 15.In contrast, as many as 234 stocks sinked with double-digit losses with 14 of them losing over 20%. India Pesticides shed the most at nearly 40%, followed by Paisalo Digital and Gensol Engineering.The midcap segment too felt the heat but the destruction was little underplayed as only two stocks -- Solar Industries and Linde India -- gained in double digits. Eleven stocks in the midcap universe lost in double-digits in the reporting period.Overall, domestic markets had a muted week as even the reliable largecap stocks fell victim to cautious sentiments among investors. Benchmark Sensex declined nearly 2% during the week and 20 out of the 30 constituents settled with cuts.Sebi chief Buch highlighted irrational run-ups and expensive valuations in small and midcaps and asked for a stress test disclosures for funds investing in the broader market.What should investors do?Analysts said indications are in favor of consolidation with negative bias until the Nifty decisively reclaims 22,250 levels."The pace of decline would remain gradual citing the resilience of select heavyweights across sectors. Traders should continue with a stock-specific approach and maintain positions on both sides," said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking.In the broader market, analysts see some kind of bargain opportunities where valuations are underpinned by strong fundamentals."The moderation in global commodity prices and the upward revision of India's GDP for FY25 are poised to highlight robust domestic demand, potentially supporting a rebound once the broader market attains stability," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.Technically, the short term and the near-term trend of Nifty appears weak and a decisive move below 21900 could open sharp weakness down to the next lower support of 21500 levels in the near term, according to Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running for the country's top office again as an independent candidate, cast his electronic vote in the presidential elections, Russia-based TASS reported.Footage released by the Kremlin showed Putin walking towards a computer in his office, casting his vote and then smiling and waving at the camera. A notification on the computer monitor then read that a vote had been successfully cast.It was not the first time that Putin cast his vote online. In the last few years, the Russian President cast his vote online during the autumn single election day.The ongoing polling to elect the Russian President marks the first time that online voting has been made available, according to TASS report.More than 3.5 million people cast their vote online on the first day of the presidential election across Russia, TASS reported, citing the e-voting monitoring portal.As of 7:28 pm (local time), as many as 3,500,331 ballots were issued to voters in 28 Russian regions, who had applied for voting online. The federal platform of electronic voting recorded a 73 per cent voter turnout on the first day, TASS reported.As many as 4.76 million people in Russia planned to cast votes on the federal platform, the state agency reported, adding that people in Moscow could vote on the city's own platform and were not required to apply for remote voting prior to the polls.More than 180 election experts from 58 countries are overseeing the Russian presidential election. They are witnessing the elections at the invitation of the Russian Civic Chamber's (CC) invitation, the CC said in a statement on the Telegram channel, TASS reported."At the invitation of the Russian Civic Chamber, 185 foreign election experts from 58 countries came to Russia to independently conduct public observation," the statement read. The message was displayed during the 24-hour online stream of the CC election observing situation centre, according to officials.The Russian Federation Council, or Upper House of the Duma, initially declared March 17, 2024 as the date for the presidential election. However, later, the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that voting would take place over three days-- from March 15 to 17.The candidates, who have pitted themselves against Putin for the top post in the country are Vladislav Davankov, Leonid Slutsky and Nikolay Kharitonov.The New People Party picked Vladislav Davankov to run for the highest office while Putin was a self-designated candidate. Leonid Slutsky of the LDPR party and Nikolay Kharitonov also entered the fray, representing the Communist Party of Russia, according to TASS.This is the first time that the presidential polls in Russia are being conducted over three days. According to Russian Central Election Commission Chair Ella Pamfilova, the people liked this format as it gives them more opportunity to cast votes in the presidential polls, TASS reported.Putin has served four terms as Russian President. He was elected Russian President in 2000 and re-elected in 2004, 2012, and 2018, Al Jazeera reported. If he wins, Putin will serve another six years, due to constitutional amendments that have expanded the term. It would mark his fifth term in office. He could be re-elected in 2030 for a sixth term.

Mumbai: Stress test results published Friday for small and midcap-themed mutual funds demonstrated wide variations in the duration asset managers would need to liquidate units, underscoring the diverse risk profiles of such investments after the capital markets regulator mandated the exercise over concerns of 'froth' or 'bubbles' in some pockets of local equities.While a midcap fund can redeem 50% of its portfolio in about a day, there are some small cap funds that could take as many as 60 days to redeem half their portfolio. Investors need to keep in mind other parameters like PE of the fund, corpus of the fund, volatility measurement and cash holding before taking a decision, planners said."The stress test results are more relevant for short-term investors who are participating in the euphoria and have a time frame of just a year," says Vishal Dhawan, Chief Financial Planner, Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors. Dhawan believes long term investors who participate in such schemes with a view of benefitting from the growth story of the country should not read much into these tests. 108537675Markets regulator Sebi had asked fund houses with mid and small cap schemes to disclose their stress test results for such schemes. This helps identify the risks associated with investing in such schemes. Results help investors find out how the scheme can handle redemptions without causing damage to existing investors.Stress tests were based on the number of days it will take a fund to liquidate 25% and 50% of a portfolio. They will also show the standard deviation of the scheme, its benchmark, PE ratio, portfolio beta and help an investor take an informed decision. "Long term mutual fund investors should do risk mitigation through asset allocation and should not be unduly worried about stress tests. They should rebalance portfolios, where mid and small cap allocation is above their risk taking capacity," says Vineet Nanda, Founder, SIFT Capital.