Indian retail investors dump stocks by most since 2023

India’s stock benchmark, the NSE Nifty 50 Index, has risen about 10% so far this year, but it has lagged the hefty returns of peers in China, Taiwan and South Korea, held back by the lack of artificial intelligence plays locally.

India’s retail traders are turning cautious on equities as growth concerns linger, while expensive valuations are denting sentiment.

Individual investors, including proprietary traders and those who buy stocks directly, have sold 197 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) of local shares on a net basis so far this quarter, according to data from the National Stock Exchange. That puts them on pace for the biggest quarterly selloff since the quarter ended June 2023, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

India’s stock benchmark, the NSE Nifty 50 Index, has risen about 10% so far this year, but it has lagged the hefty returns of peers in China, Taiwan and South Korea, held back by the lack of artificial intelligence plays locally. The gauge is heading for its 10th straight year of gains, yet it has failed to close above the all-time high reached last year.

Some retail investors shifting to assets such as precious metals, which have delivered strong returns this year, have further weighed on equities, Abhishek Banerjee, chief executive officer of LotusDew Wealth and Investment Advisors, said.

“We need one to two major pieces of good news to take sentiment ahead — like a good US trade deal or a nice GDP print due soon,” he added.