India at 75: 9 most important events for Indian market since 2021

From domestic MFs' AUM crossing Rs 30 trillion to the landmark LIC and Zomato IPOs and the appointment of India's first woman securities regulator, here are the 9 biggest events for markets since 2021

1. March 31, 2021: FPIs pour a record Rs 2.74 trillion ($37 billion) into Indian markets during the 12 months ending March 2021, beating the earlier highest-ever inflow tally of Rs 1.4 trillion ($25.8 billion) reported for FY13, NSDL data shows. The finance ministry says the sharp inflows in FY21 were due to several policy initiatives and a fast-economic recovery.

2. April 6, 2021: Combined market cap of the Gautam Adani group comp­anies tops the $100-billion mark. The combined value of the six listed companies of the group touches $107 trillion (Rs 7.84 trillion) on April 6. Only the Tata group, HDFC group and the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group have higher market cap at a group level. On August 11, 2022, the combined value of the six companies, along with the then recently listed Adani Wilmar, would reach Rs 17.93 trillion.

3. July 14, 2021: The IPO of Zomato, the first for a unicorn, is laun­ched. It is seen as a test case for whether domestic in­vestors would be open to backing comp­anies that are not making any profits or they would conform to the normally accepted benchmarks. Zomato’s listing paves the way for the listing of a bunch of big start-ups like Nykaa, PolicyBazaar and Paytm on Indian bourses.

Also read: India at 75: 12 landmarks for Indian markets between 2015 and 2020

(Photo: Bloomberg)

4. May 24, 2021: Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it takes just about 46 months for India’s market capitalisation to rise by $1 trillion to $3 trillion. With the rupee at 73 a dollar, the value is Rs 218.94 trillion in rupee terms.

5. September 16, 2021: India’s market cap tops $3.5 trillion. The Nifty completes a 10,000-point climb from its Covid lows. Foreign capital starts flowing into emerging markets, including India, propelling stocks across the board. A month later, Ind­ia’s unique investor base would top 50 million, underpinned by buoyancy in the stock market, ease of account opening and a shift to remote working.

Also read: India at 75: 16 events that impacted Indian markets between 2003 and 2014

6. December 31, 2021: Indian companies cap a record year for IPO fundraising. A total of Rs 1.19 trillion is mobilised during the calen­d­ar year by 63 companies, sur­passing 2017’s tally of over Rs 67,000 crore. The mop-up is supported by a sharp rally in the secondary mar­k­et and ample global liquidity.

7. March 2, 2022: India gets its first woman securities regulator as Madhabi Puri Buch, 56, is appointed Sebi chairperson. Puri (pictur­ed on top) is also the first person from the private sector to head the securities market watchdog.
 

8. March 11, 2022: India enters the top-5 club in mar­ket cap as Russia’s attack on Ukraine changes the pecking order. India’s market cap on this day is higher than the UK’s $3.19 trillion, Saudi Arabia’s $3.18 trillion, and Canada’s $3.18 trillion.

Also read: India at 75: 20 milestones for Indian markets between 1995 and 2002

9. May 4, 2022: LIC launches India’s largest IPO, with its issue size of Rs 20,557 crore surpassing Coal India’s. The IPO has to be down­sized due to chal­lenging market conditions.

Photo: Bloomberg

The issue garners record 6.1 million retail applications, but the listing is weak. The stock closes at Rs 875.45 on the first day (May 17), lower than the IPO price of Rs 949. It would decline further to Rs 680 as on August 8.

Contributed by Samie Modak, Krishna Kant, Ram Prasad Sahu and Sundar Sethuraman