Small- and mid-cap shares raced ahead of large caps in April

With markets getting back their mojo after four months, small- and mid-cap shares raced ahead of large caps in April.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index surged 7.5 per cent — its biggest monthly advance in 10 months — and outperformed the benchmark Nifty 50 index by 350 basis points.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index soared 5.9 per cent, most since August.

Interestingly, April has been a strong month for the small cap universe historically.

In the past decade, the BSE Smallcap index has delivered positive performance on nine out of 10 occasions with an average return of nearly 5 per cent, according to Bloomberg.

Analysts said the broader markets played catch up in April, following months of underperformance.

They expect this trend to continue.

“The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices recorded a breakout from their four-month fall indicating a revival. We expect a catch up in the mid cap/small cap segment in the coming month, backed by stronger breadth readings and sectoral churn,” said a note by ICICI Direct.

Among sectoral indices, the realty pack performed the best, while the IT index was the only one with negative returns.