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Japanese shares closed lower on Wednesday, impacted by a drop in automakers following U.S. President Trump s auto tariff threat. The Nikkei fell 0.27%, with major automakers like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all declining. The Bank of Japan s inclination towards raising interest rates further added to market tension.

​A lot of tools that we look at have been reaching the extremes, whether it is the number of stocks that have fallen below the 200 DMA in the Nifty 500 basket that almost went down to almost 13% to 12%, compared to around 15% when the Nifty was at 15,200 in 2022.

​So, it is predominantly retail that has been selling and that is where the maximum interest was and that is the reason we have seen a sharp correction in the mid and smallcaps. Going ahead, the whole market is waiting now for these numbers to pick up.

​Every day there was some negative news flow, global concern, geopolitical concern, inflation concern, oil prices, commodity, everything was kind of uncertain. But if you look at in that period, whether you bought smallcaps or largecaps, that vintage really delivered great return on 23 and 24.

Eight PSU stocks have delivered a dividend yield ranging from 6-12% over the past year, with NMDC leading at 12%. Other notable companies include Chennai Petroleum Corporation with 11%, and Coal India at 9%. These companies have consistently provided substantial returns to shareholders.

Stocks in the defence sector posted strong gains, with Data Patterns rising 14.4% to Rs 1,631, Bharat Dynamics increasing 9.1% to Rs 1,102.25, and Zen Technologies advancing 10% to Rs 1,068.65. Other notable players, such as DCX Systems and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, also saw double-digit gains during intra-day trading.

Uday Kotak warned against excessive protectionism, urging India to embrace competition instead of shielding domestic industries with high tariffs. While some protection is needed for emerging sectors, excessive barriers can stifle innovation, reduce productivity, and hinder India s integration into global supply chains, ultimately limiting long-term economic growth and competitiveness.

Despite the bear market, the Nifty 250 Smallcap Index has seen impressive gains from select stocks since September 27, 2024. Redington led with a 29.97% rise, followed by Amber Enterprises India at 24.28%, and Zensar Technologies at 20.81%. Navin Fluorine International and Laurus Labs also showed notable resilience, gaining 19.74% and 19.69% respectively.

The Q3 earnings season proved tougher than anticipated for smallcap companies. According to JM Financial, 50% of smallcap companies missed expectations, compared to 34% for midcaps and 28% for largecaps.

The US labor market is slowing, with job openings dropping by 556,000 to 7.6 million in December 2024, below the expected 8 million. The decline was driven by professional and business services, along with healthcare and social assistance, which saw a combined reduction of 405,000 openings, signalling a cooling employment landscape.