Over half of NSE 500 stocks trading 30% below peak levels

More than half of the companies in the NSE 500 index are currently trading at least 30% below their all-time peak levels, with many stocks continuing to hit fresh lows. This is occurring even as the benchmark indices -- the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 -- reached record highs in recent sessions. According to market experts, the rally in the market is primarily led by select blue-chips while the overall sentiment, especially in the small-cap segment, remains muted. “There isn’t one single trigger behind this fall. A combination of sector-wise cyclical moves, profit-booking, the ongoing US–India tariff tensions, and a weakening rupee has contributed to the pressure, despite the Nifty benchmark itself hitting new highs,” said Kunal V. Parar, Vice-President of Technical Research and Algo, Choice Broking. He advised that at current levels, investors should shift their focus toward value buying, where there is better visibility and a sense of capital safety. As per an analysis of NSE 500 stocks, there are a handful of stocks that have fallen more than half from their 52-week highs. Stocks like Ola Electric, TARIL, Isolation Energy, ZENTEC and PGEL have taken a big beating in the last one year. Analysis of market activity indicates that small-cap stocks are facing the highest selling pressure among segments. While the benchmark Nifty50 and the Nifty Midcap 100 both reached new record highs earlier this week, the Nifty Smallcap 100 continues to lag significantly. In 2025, the small-cap index remains down by more than 6% and is still over 10% below its previous all-time high of 19,761. Prar of Choice Broking said that the coming year is expected to stay highly volatile, with the Union Budget in February, four key state elections, and global uncertainty around the tariff dispute likely to influence sentiment. “These factors may create phases of weakness, but investors can use this volatility to accumulate quality stocks—only where long-term fundamentals remain strong. It is better to stay away from companies with poor financials or unclear visibility, rather than getting trapped in long periods of underperformance and losing opportunity cost,” he added. Despite the downturn, the NSE 500 pack is showing signs of a revival on hopes of better earnings by mid-cap stocks. “NSE 500 is up by 19.2% from the March lows while the Nifty is up 17.7% from the March lows. The slight outperformance of NSE 500 is due to the better earnings growth of midcaps over largecaps,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. He added, “The higher valuations of midcaps are also reflected in the higher PE of NSE 500 at 24.2 against the Nifty PE of 22.6. Midcaps are likely to outperform largecaps in earnings growth in the coming couple of quarters, too.”