India boasts world’s fifth-largest stock market – Bloomberg

The South Asian country has overtaken France amid a boost in foreign investment

India has reclaimed its spot as the world’s fifth-largest stock market, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing calculations based on trading data.

According to the report, the market capitalization of publicly traded Indian firms rose to a four-month high of $3.3 trillion last Friday, topping that of France.

India lost its place in the top five to France in January amid a rout in shares of Adani Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate that deals in spheres from port management to energy, mining, airport operations, food processing, and infrastructure. At the time, the conglomerate was facing allegations of stock price manipulation and violations of public shareholding rules.

However, France lost more than $100 billion in market value last week amid a sell-off of luxury goods stocks. India’s stock market, meanwhile, has benefited from a surge in purchases from foreign investors. According to calculations, they have added $5.7 billion worth of Indian stocks to their portfolios since the start of April. Analysts say this happened due to the unsteady economic recovery in China that prompted investors to turn their sights to India instead.

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A reversal of fortunes for Adani Group, which was cleared of regulatory violations by a Supreme Court-appointed panel last week, added to India’s gains. The group’s 10 listed companies gained roughly $15 billion in market value last week.

Analysts also note that a stable macroeconomic situation in India, which boasts one of the highest GDP growth rates among large global economies, is helping the country’s stock market improve its position among top rivals.

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