Investor wealth crosses Rs 200 lakh crore-mark

The investor wealth of equity holders on Thursday surpassed Rs 200 lakh crore-mark. At the close of trading hours, it stood at Rs 200.47 lakh crore ($2.76 trillion) -- roughly the same size as the Indian economy.

Indian equity investors have been reaping the benefits of an unprecedented stock market rally, as their holdings have almost doubled since the lows of March 2020. Driven by foreign fund inflow, the wealth created in the stock markets has increased by 27% in the past three months.

The investor wealth is denoted by the market capitalisation of all listed companies in India. Since the Budget announcements, which India Inc hailed as “growth-oriented”, the investor wealth in India has surged by Rs 14.34 lakh crore.

With this surge in the stock riches, BSE has also become the world’s 9th largest exchange in terms of listed companies’ market capitalisation, as of date.

“It is a matter of immense pride that, since 1875, BSE has acted as a catalyst to help create immense wealth to the tune of Rs 200 lakh crore amounting to $2.75 trillion. It is heartening to note that BSE continues to remain the primary wealth creator of the nation. It is also good to note that no other developing country has a thriving capital market as compared to India,” Ashishkumar Chauhan, BSE MD and CEO said.

However, this rally has increased the income disparity in the Indian economy, as the country’s richest got richer at a time when most of the working middle class has been living on truncated salaries. In the past one month alone, the top five billionaires of India have increased their net worth by $3.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.