Small investors cash out as markets rally

Scepticism about rally, margin calls among reasons for selling

- Ram Sahgal, Anirudh Laskar & Mayur Bhalerao

Small investors, who piled on to shares in the three years to 31 March, have turned net sellers in the June quarter despite the market rallying 14% from a March low to record highs by June-end on robust purchases by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

Market experts attributed the selling by small investors to a combination of initial scepticism about the rally and the need to meet margin calls on loss-making derivatives positions.

After investing ₹2.8 trillion in stocks during FY21-23, retail investors sold a net of ₹21,100 crore worth of stocks in the June quarter of the current fiscal year, according to data from National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India Ltd. Of this, RS 2.8 trillion, almost three-fifths was invested in FY22, with the inflows moderating to ₹49,200 crore in the previous fiscal year to selling in the first quarter of FY24. These investors prefer to buy and sell directly on the market rather than through the mutual fund route.