War jitters cool Dalal Street, but India’s pricey tag remains

over the past two weeks amid global risk aversion, rising crude oil prices and persistent foreign portfolio investor outflows, prompting investors to reassess valuations after trade-deal-fuelled exuberance and a sharp rebound from budget-session lows.However, the correction has only partly cooled the market’s froth. A Mint analysis of over 3,400 BSE-listed companies shows that while valuations have moderated from recent highs, a significant portion of stocks still trades at premium multiples.Valuations across the broader market were visibly stretched when the Sensex touched its 52-week high of 85,762.01 on 2 January 2026.

At that point, a notable share of companies were trading at extremely high earnings multiples.Mint’s analysis shows that about 14.6% of BSE-listed companies were valued at more than 80 times their earnings around the market highs. Another 5.2% traded in the 60–80x band, while around 11.1% were priced in the 40–60x range.

Nearly 15.8% of companies traded at multiples between 25–40x, and more than a quarter of the market was valued in the comfortable 10–25x band.The recent correction has moderately altered this distribution. By 26 February 2026—even before geopolitical tensions escalated further—the share of companies trading above the lofty valuations of 80x had already eased to around 12% and following the volatility, that share declined further to about 11%.Meanwhile, more stocks have shifted into lower valuation brackets.

The share of companies trading in the 5-10x earnings range has increased to about 8.5%, compared with roughly 4.9% at its one-year high levels.“Valuation comfort has improved slightly. India is more investable than it was six months ago—but it remains a conviction, not a value play,”