India surges to 5th place in global stock market rankings, valued at over $3.31 trillion

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Following a broad-based rally in local equities, India has reclaimed its position as the world's fifth-largest market. This comes after briefly losing the spot to France in January. The positive performance of the Indian stock market contributed to this resurgence in ranking.

The local equity market in India is in a rally since March 28, as continued buying from foreign investors amid improving macroeconomic conditions in the country.  The Sensex and the Nifty jumped nearly 10 percent, while BSE MidCap and SmallCap climbed nearly 15 percent. The BSE Bankex has climbed nearly 13 percent.

Foreign investors have bought nearly $6.3 billion in local equities in the last two months.

India's market capitalisation stands at $3.31 trillion. It is now ranked fifth among the top-10 most-valued countries. Since the beginning of this year, it has experienced an increase of almost $330 billion market capitalisation.

In comparison, the US holds the top spot with a market value of $44.54 trillion, followed by China with $10.26 trillion and Japan with $5.68 trillion. Hong Kong is ranked fourth with a market capitalisation of $5.14 trillion, while France holds the sixth slot with $3.24-trillion market value.

Foreign brokerage Jefferies recently expressed confidence in India's enduring structural narrative and believes that it is only a matter of time before the BSE benchmark Sensex crosses the remarkable 1,00,000 milestone. This target has captured the fascination of India's vibrant financial media landscape.

Jefferies' projection is based on an assumption of 15 percent earnings per share (EPS) growth over a five-year period and the maintenance of a five-year average one-year forward price-to-earnings (PE) multiple of 19.8 times.

Investors are now eagerly anticipating the release of gross domestic product (GDP) data for the March quarter, which is scheduled to be announced on May 31. This data is expected to provide further insights into the state of the Indian economy and may influence market sentiment and investment decisions.