NDTV Profit reported that WhiteOak Capital Asset Management CEO Aashish P. Somaiyaa warned prolonged weakness in Indian mid- and small-cap shares could weaken retail confidence, raising concern over the downturn’s broader market effects.
The outlet said Somaiyaa’s concern was that continued weakness could sap retail investors’ confidence. Its account of his X post referred to market pessimism in 2008, the “Fragile Five” label in 2013 and the initial COVID-19 sell-off in 2020. NDTV Profit also said he cautioned against extreme narratives about market direction.
At 5:39 a.m. ET (09:39 UTC) Oct. 28, NDTV Profit reported one-month declines of 4.48% for the Nifty Midcap 150 and 4.73% for the Nifty Smallcap 250. INDmoney’s later snapshot, at 6:06 a.m. ET (10:06 UTC), listed the Midcap 150 down 4.84%. These are readings taken at different times that morning.
The benchmarks track distinct segments of the Nifty 500. Nifty Indices places companies ranked 101 through 250 by full market capitalization in the Midcap 150, and those ranked 251 through 500 in the Smallcap 250. Together, the two indexes cover Nifty 500 ranks 101 through 500, showing returns for the mid-cap and small-cap groups separately.
The monthly readings follow sharp weekly losses in both segments. Reuters previously reported that small-cap shares fell 7.3% and mid-cap shares 5.6% in a week, their steepest falls in 20 months, in EconoTimes’ coverage of the weekly selloff. The weekly declines and the later one-month readings cover different periods. Somaiyaa’s warning, as reported by NDTV Profit, described a possible risk to investor confidence, not an observed fall in that confidence.
