Street signs: New listings see weak appetite; gold and silver shine

IPO momentum fades in early 2026 as weak listings, FPI outflows and promoter selling weigh on markets, even as gold and silver steal the spotlight from equities

Newly listed stocks see little investor appetite 

After a record year, the primary market has stumbled out of the gates in 2026. Apart from a rare positive surprise from state-owned Bharat Coking Coal, recent listings have struggled to find investor appetite. Amagi Media Labs saw its shares slip on debut, underscoring waning risk appetite. It remains to be seen how shares of Shadowfax Technologies will fare when they list on Wednesday, amid the secondary market gloom. The sharp selloff in the secondary market has further darkened sentiment, making it increasingly difficult for bankers to push new deals through. “Several issuers are on the sidelines, and those keen to tap the market will have to accept valuation cuts or wait for conditions to stabilise,” said a banker. 

Gold, silver demand continues to shine 

With gold and silver on a scorching run and equities struggling for direction, a meme doing the rounds jokes that precious-metal ETFs should be added to the Sensex and the Nifty to stabilise index performance. The humour isn’t entirely misplaced. Gold and silver have not only outperformed most stocks, they are also emerging as favourites in the margin trading facility (MTF) segment. As of January 22, the Nippon India Silver ETF had the third-highest outstanding MTF position at ₹1,300 crore, underscoring the surge in speculative interest. Globally, silver prices are up 40 per cent so far this year, after a blistering 2.5-times jump in 2025 — giving equities stiff competition. 

Foreign investors pull out $3.5 bn in Jan so far 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have withdrawn $3.5 billion from domestic equities so far this month, following a record $19 billion selloff in 2025. While FPIs are often blamed for the market’s lacklustre performance, they are not the sole source of selling pressure. Estimates suggest that domestic promoters and founders may have offloaded an even larger volume of shares over the past two years. “FPIs tend to take the blame for weak sentiment, but promoters, founders and private equity investors have sold far more aggressively over the past two years,” said an analyst, adding that many took advantage of buoyant market conditions.