India : Investor wealth slumps Rs. 14 lakh cr in last 1 year

Investor wealth has diminished by nearly Rs. 14 lakh crore in the last one year when the BSE benchmark Sensex scaled its record peak and has fallen by almost 18 per cent since then.

The index has come down by 5,378.26 points, or 17.91 per cent, since its all—time high of 30,024.74 on March 4, 2015.

The 30-share Sensex also hit its one-year low of 22,494.61 on February 29 this year.

Led by a decline in the stock market, investor wealth fell by Rs. 13.82 lakh crore to Rs. 91.56 lakh crore during this period.

Negative FPI inflows have also added to market worries.

FPIs, a major driver of the Indian equity market, pulled out a net Rs. 11,126 crore from equities in January and another Rs. 5,521 crore in February this year.

The net FPI inflows in 2015 had slackened to just about USD 3 billion.

Markets have seen extreme weakness due to various negative factors, including global economic slowdown fears, falling crude prices, worries related to Chinese economy and muted quarterly earnings.

Experts said domestic woes, including ballooning NPAs reported by banks and weak quarterly numbers in various other sectors, also added to the market weakness recently.

The index slumped to its lowest level in 21 months, when the Sensex crashed 807 points to drop below the 23,000-mark on February 11, this year.

The blue-chip stocks have also taken a hit, with BHEL sliding more than 60 per cent, Tata Motors 40 per cent and SBI 36 per cent.