New Delhi, Sept. 28 -- Small-cap stocks emerged as the best-performing major asset class in the first half of FY27, with the Nifty Smallcap 250 rising 23% between April and September (H1). However, experts caution that the rally remains concentrated in a relatively narrow set of stocks, leaving future returns vulnerable to even mild earnings disappointments amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.

The small-cap rally has comfortably outpaced the 13% rise in the Nifty Midcap 150 and the 2% gain in the Nifty 50, reversing last year's pecking order. Gold and silver, the standout performers of H1 FY26, have fallen 10% and 15%, respectively, in H1 FY27. Gold rose 23%, while silver gained 36% during the same period last fiscal year.

But Mint's an...