EQUITY INVESTORS LOSS @ Rs.3 LAKH CRORES

Stock market investors have become poorer by nearly Rs 3 lakh crore so far this year as the recent selling in equities pulled down the valuation of all listed firms on BSE to Rs 95.40 lakh crore. Total investor wealth, measured in terms of cumulative market value of all listed stocks, fell by Rs 2.95 lakh crore to Rs 95.40 lakh crore this year. In 2014, market investors added a whopping Rs 28 lakh crore taking the valuation of all listed firms to Rs 98.36 lakh crore. Last year also saw investor wealth hitting Rs 100 lakh crore mark. Markets have been volatile for past couple of quarters on weak corporate earnings and negative global cues. The benchmark BSE Sensex has lost 1,635.92 points or 5.94 per cent to 25,863.50 so far in 2015. The index hit an all-time high of 30,024.74 on March 4, 2015, however, the later half of the year saw the gauge giving up most of its gains and subsequently touched a one-year low level of 24,833.54 on September 8. Sensex crashed by 1,624.51 points on August 24 -- its biggest ever single-day fall -- wiping out over Rs 7 lakh crore from investors' wealth on a sharp global sell-off triggered by a Chinese rout. Concerns over economic slowdown in China and currency devaluation have dampened investors sentiment. In 2014, the Sensex rose by 6,328.74 points or 30 per cent, the highest annual gain since 2009 when it had rallied by 7,817 points. Foreign investors have pulled out about Rs 5,000 crore from the capital markets since beginning of this month. Last month, the net outflow from equities was Rs 17,428 crore. That was the highest net outflow by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in a single month since 1997. Since beginning of the year, FPIs have made a net investment of Rs 23,961 crore in equities and Rs 37,654 crore in debt markets.