Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad witnessed the sharpest decline in active investors among all districts nationwide, recording a 19.5% drop in Oct following the recent stock market correction, according to a National Stock Exchange (NSE) report. Despite the significant decrease, Ahmedabad remained the country’s third-largest district by active investor count, with 4.5 lakh investors continuing to trade in the market.
The BSE Sensex plunged approximately 5,000 points in Oct, significantly affecting retail investor sentiment. “BSE Sensex, which stood above 84,000 at the beginning of Oct, slipped below 79,500 by month-end. Market downturns typically lead to reduced investor participation. Oct witnessed a sell-off, triggering a significant market decline, resulting in decreased investor activity across the nation,” said Viral Mehta, west zone head of a stock broking firm.
Active investors across India’s top 10 districts witnessed a sharp decline in Oct, with numbers falling 9.5% month-on-month to 45.5 lakh, according to the NSE report. Market leaders Mumbai and Delhi NCR maintained their top positions despite significant drops in investor participation. “Mumbai recorded a decline of 6.5% month-on-month, with 11.7 lakh investors, while Delhi NCR saw a steeper drop of 7.6%, reaching 11.2 lakh investors. Among other districts, Ahmedabad experienced the largest fall of 19.5%, with its number of investors declining to 4.5 lakh,” the report states.
The NSE report further revealed that Oct witnessed a slight decline in the share of individual investors trading at least once during the month, with the top 10 districts accounting for 30.5% of total traders. Mumbai maintained its leading position with a 7.8% share, followed closely by Delhi NCR at 7.5%. Ahmedabad’s share dropped to 3%, while Pune moved up to fourth position with a 2.6% share. Bengaluru held steady at 2.4%, and Surat experienced a slight dip to 2.3%.