Equities in India put up their worst performance in 18 years in the quarter ended March as the new coronavirus pandemic upended economies worldwide and disrupted trade.
The Nifty 50 Index slumped 29.3 percent in the period as India went into the world’s biggest lockdown to curb spreading of infection, shutting down businesses temporarily in an already slowing economy.
The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices tumbled close to 31.6 percent and 38.4 percent, respectively, during the period. That’s the worst drop in the broader market in 12 years.
Some large investors used this opportunity to buy or pare holdings in the small- and mid-cap space.
Here’s what veteran investors like Radhakishan Damani, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Ashish Kacholia, Dolly Khanna, Akash Bhansali, Vijay Kedia and Mukul Agarwal bought and sold in the quarter ended March.
The holdings and changes are based on disclosures made on the exchanges for quarter ended March and do not reflect their entire portfolio.
Radhakishan Damani
The billionaire investor’s stake in Avenue Supermarts Ltd. fell 246 basis points on account of an equity fundraising by the operator of DMart supermarket chain that led to a dilution of holding. The promoter hasn’t pared stake.
Damani increased his stake in cigarette maker VST Industries Ltd. by 171 basis points during the quarter. He was listed among shareholders with 1 percent or more stake in the maker of Charminar and Charms brand of cigarettes in the three months ended December.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, along with his wife Rekha, cut and raised stakes in three companies each.
The market veteran pared his holding the most in one of his favourite bets—Titan Company Ltd.— by 116 basis points. He also marginally lowered stake in Firstsource Solutions Ltd. and NCC Ltd.
Jhunjhunwala was listed among shareholders with 1 percent of more stake in Indian airport operator GMR Infrastructure Ltd. He raised stake in drugmaker Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd. during the three months ended March.
Akash Bhansali
The investor didn’t make much changes to his portfolio except from marginally increasing stake in IDFC Ltd.
Ashish Kacholia
Kacholia, who usually bets on small caps, was listed among shareholders with 1 percent or more stake in pipemaker Apollo Tricoat Tubes Ltd. Besides, he increased holding in Apollo Pipes Ltd., IT firm Mastek Ltd., Birlasoft Ltd. and specialty chemicals maker Paushak Ltd. by 2-36 basis points.
While Kacholia marginally reduced stake in Mirc Electronics Ltd., he either exited or cut holding below 1 percent in GHCL Ltd.
His holding in insurance software provider Majesco Ltd. and manufacturer and retailer of fashion jewelry and lifestyle accessories Vaibhav Global Ltd., too, came down marginally during the quarter because of equity dilution, not stake sale.
Mukul Agarwal
Agarwal—who publicly owns stake in close to 35 companies—was listed among shareholders with 1 percent or more stake in textile company Indo Count Industries Ltd., sanitary ware maker HSIL Ltd. and Bhagiradha Chemicals Industries Ltd.
He pared holdings in Cords Cable Industries Ltd., book and publishing aggregator Repro India Ltd. and IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd, an online marketplace for business products and services, during the quarter ended March.
Agarwal’s stake in Solara Active Pharma Sciences Ltd., too, fell sequentially on account of equity dilution.
Vijay Kedia
Kedia either exited or pared stake below 1 percent in Neuland Laboratories Ltd. and Heritage Foods Ltd. He had added Neuland Laboratories to his portfolio in the quarter ended December.
Dolly Khanna
Chennai-based Rajiv Khanna, who invests in the name of his wife Dolly Khanna, either exited or cut stake below 1 percent stake in Muthoot Capital Services Ltd. and plastic products maker Nilkamal Ltd. This is the first time that Khanna’s stake in these companies fell below 1 percent.
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