MUMBAI: When the Indian economy was on an upswing, brokerage and real estate stocks were said to be the darlings of equity bourses.
When the going was good, some also made their debut on stock exchanges and were a big hit with the investing community. Never mind the fact that some of these stocks were commanding a valuation ahead of some of the reputed state-owned banks in the country.
Now, with global economy in turmoil and the decoupling theory now being dismissed as frivolous, financial services and real estate sectors are finding a few takers. Most of the recently listed entities from these sectors have lost more than 35-40% in the recent past.
“While all sectors have taken a hit, brokerage stocks have been singled out for punishment due to the swift run-up after listing,” he adds. On a different note, the land bank story is also not finding favour anymore. Stocks like DLF, Puravankara, Omaxe, IVR Prime, Parsvnath Developers, Orbit Corporation, Unitech and HDIL have been in the doldrums since the start of the current calendar year.
While Omaxe has lost more than 60% in the past two months, IVR Prime has lost around 55%. Parsvnath Developers has also lost around 60% since January 17.
Similarly, DLF, which was gaining ground almost on a daily basis over reports related to the Singapore listing of one of its group firms, has shed almost 50% in the last two months. May be, the scenario can be summed up in Deutsche Bank’s words,“Chasing a land bank is unwarranted”.
