42 stocks from BSE500 index trade near 52-week lows; do you own any?

As many as 42 stocks from the S&P BSE500 index are trading close to their respective 52-week lows on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). These are the stocks that are both less than 10 rupees and 10 per cent away from their respective previous year low levels (as per the closing prices on September 17).

A chunk of the list belongs to bank stocks. Seeking to spur lending needed to revive economic growth, the government last month announced a merger of smaller banks to create four new lenders that would hold more than half of the Indian banking industry’s assets.

Stocks of Corporation Bank, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank– all part of the extensive consolidation of state-owned banks — feature in this list.

Besides, the list also includes debt-ridden Indiabulls Real Estate whose stock has tanked 48 per cent from a level of Rs 112 in the last two months. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 6 per cent and S&P BSE Realty index slipped 9.5 per cent during the same period. .

Some of the stocks’ fall may be attributed to industry-wide slowdown.

For instance, Ashok Leyland has slipped 14 per cent from its level of Rs 70 touched on July 31 after it reported a 45 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in profit in its June quarter results amid the downturn in automobile sector. Equities have witnessed sharp correction owing to multiple headwinds — both domestic and global — that have prompted investors to take risk off the table. Investor concerns about a slowdown in the domestic economy and fears of a global recession were exacerbated when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a proposal to hike surcharge on foreign portfolio investors. The decision was reversed only after the spooked foreign investors withdrew more than Rs 24,500 crore from domestic equities in July and August.

Subdued corporate earnings, uncertainty over US-China trade talks, Brexit, volatility in crude oil prices are some of the key issues that have kept the investors on tenterhooks.

On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, the S&P BSE Sensex has gained 0.9 per cent, while the S&P BSE 500 index has underperformed the market by slipping around 4 per cent during the same time period. In fact, the S&P BSE500 index itself is 750 points away from its 52-week low level of 13,287 touched on October 26, 2018.

(Source: AceEquity)