Investor wealth rises by Rs 5 lakh cr in Apr

The stock market rally in April saw investors adding Rs 5.30 lakh crore to their wealth in a single month, nearly half of the Rs 11.76 lakh crore accumulated by them since October last year, when the Sensex had plummeted below the 8,000-level.

The total investors’ wealth, measured in terms of combined market capitalisation of all the listed companies, has increased by over Rs 11,76,722 crore in the past six months to Rs 35,86,977.71 crore at the end of last week.

Interestingly, the sharp gain in April added a whopping Rs 5,30,903 crore to the total investors’ wealth, regaining a large part of the ground lost during the meltdown.

The total market capitalisation stood at Rs 24,10,256 crore on October 27, when the benchmark Sensex had dropped to a 52-week low at 7,697 points.

The 30-share Sensex has touched a six-month high of 11,403.25 points last week, gaining 3,786 points from the October lows. Since the beginning of this year, the Sensex has made gradual recovery and the sharp surge last week has led the index to cross the 11,000-level again.

The BSE benchmark Sensex has gained 1,694 points, or over 17 per cent in April, the highest monthly gain in a decade, following a bullish phase in the domestic market.

Markets likely to consolidate
A sign of consolidation is likely to greet Dalal Street this week on the back of an anticipation that election results would weigh on the market, analysts say.

“This week will be a real test for the market to see whether this eight-week-old rally pauses for breath or continues its upward journey. It is petering out and is likely to correct itself before deciding what next. The election results will be out within two weeks and that could bring about some uncertainty in the market,” said Arun Kejriwal, director of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services.