Signs Of Moderation

Retail ownership of top 500 stocks of BSE saw a sequential decline in december quarter. Is their interest waning?

- Niti Kiran

Stock markets have had a stellar run since their lockdown lows, with the BSE Sensex rising from 25,638 at the peak of the crisis in 2020 to 52,516 in mid-February 2021. Since then, it has been a slow grind, with the index hovering around the 50,000 mark. One of the clearest signs of the earlier euphoria wearing off is the dip in retail ownership of BSE 500 stocks. Consider this. There has been a decline in retail ownership – those holding up to ₹2 lakh nominal capital – in three out of five stocks in BSE 500 in December quarter. In fact, overall retail ownership of BSE 500 stocks fell from 6.9 per cent in September quarter to 6.8 per cent in December quarter. Individual investors had increased stake in almost two-third (338) companies in July-September. This fell to 207, or 41 per cent, over the next three months.

The fall was concentrated in the banking and financial services space — Indiabulls Housing Finance saw the highest decline of 560 bps followed by RBL Bank with 490 bps. The sectors where retail investors reduced their stake include finance (60 bps), automobile & ancillaries (50 bps), infrastructure (40 bps) and banks (30 bps).