Max pleasure, max pain: Shankar Sharma’s inescapable truth about stock market

Market guru Shankar Sharma’s latest X post on the "inescapable truth about markets" struck a chord with many investors. Sharma in a post overnight said: ‘What gives maximum pleasure in markets eventually brings maximum pain." The post garnered over 12,000 views and many responses. Sharma's views came as the year 2025 is ending with nearly 2,600 listed stocks delivering negative returns in excess of 10 per cent.

An X user related his view to small caps investments, which he felt delivers the highest pleasure, and the deepest pain. "That’s their charm and their curse. Small caps are emotional roller coasters: unmatched highs, unforgettable lows," he said.

Data showed the BSE SmallCap index is down 10 per cent for the calendar compared with 8 per cent rise in the largecap index Sensex, and 9 per cent rise in another key benchmark Nifty. 

On replying to an X post, Sharma said maximum pain in the market cannot give max pleasure. "Not actually true in reverse! It's usually one way," he said.

The reverse happens, but rarely, he told a third X user. A fourth X user said no pain, no gain.  

Jefferies on December 18 in a note said the Indian stock market has recorded its worst relative performance in three decades so far in 2025, both within Asia and across emerging markets, alongside an unexpected bout of rupee weakness.

It noted that MSCI India was up a mere 2.2 per cent in dollar terms on a total-return basis year-to-date, sharply underperforming MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex-Japan and MSCI Emerging Markets, which were up 25.90 per cent and 29.90 per cent, respectively.

Jefferies attributed the underperformance to a cyclical economic deceleration, with MSCI India earnings growth estimated to slow to around 10 per cent in FY26. This has been compounded by a 5.3 per cent depreciation in the rupee against the dollar so far in 2025, with the currency breaching the psychologically important 90 level in December.

ICICI Securities said the performance gap underscores that trade policy clarity, not domestic growth alone, has been the dominant driver of regional equity returns, ICICI Direct said in a note.

"Trade resolution is the missing catalyst-closure of the US-India deal could unlock India’s relative re-rating versus Asian peers," it said.