As Bulls Take A Breather, 40% Nifty 50 Stocks Enter Correction Zone

The Nifty 50 is still trading 15% in the green on a year-on-year basis but in the month gone by, the reading is in the red. Nearly 40% of Nifty 50 stocks are in the correction mode, according data collated by NDTV Profit. The benchmark Nifty 50 hit an all time high of 26,277.35 on Sept. 27. Since then, the benchmark has pulled back 5% from the milestone.

However, while the Nifty 50 may have corrected only 5% in the last nine trading sessions, many of the index heavyweights have already entered correction mode. Nearly 20 stocks have corrected 10%, with five stocks correcting more than 15% from their 52-week highs.

Tech stocks in the index have corrected the least, except for Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. The tech major has corrected nearly 10% from its all-time high. Recent disappointing second-quarter numbers have also not helped, despite buying seen in the sector.

Foreign investors have so far sold Rs 62,876 crore in the last 10 trading days, while DIIs-led mutual funds have acquired Rs 64,438 crore.

Foreign investors sold largely frontline stocks, with Tata Motors Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and Tata Steel Ltd. leading. Selling was also heavy in banking stocks like HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd.

Indian markets are swayed by a few global headwinds, including the West Asia crisis that could threaten oil supply and lead to rise in oil prices. Other risks are the Chinese stimulus that could lead to further foreign fund outflows and impending tightening of the Japanese rate cycle. This has led to foreign funds booking profits and outflows in the last 10 days.

Domestic funds have invested equal amount in the market, but the flows have moved to stocks and sectors with better visibility of earnings.