India’s demat account openings hit four-month high in June amid market rebound

Mumbai: India added more than 2.5 million demat accounts in June driven by recovery in the markets, marking the biggest additions since February, as key indices Nifty 50 and Sensex advanced 1.35 and 2.3%, respectively, in this period.As of June-end, the Central Depository Services (India) or CDSL reported it has nearly 186 million investor accounts. NSDL (National Securities Depository) said it had 45.6 million demat accounts on its platform as of June 30, making a total of 231.5 million demat accounts in India."Demat account additions picked up in June as market sentiment improved following the easing of geopolitical concerns that had weighed on equities in the preceding months," said Ashish Rathi, chief operating officer and whole-time director at HDFC Securities. "The announcements around the proposed NSE and Jio IPOs may have also encouraged investors to open new accounts to maximise their application opportunities and improve their chances of allotment."While the pace of additions was the fastest in four months, the maximum number of accounts in 2026 were added in January, at 3.6 million additions, coinciding Nifty 50's life highs of 26373.2 on January 5. This was followed by 2.8 million net new accounts in February.132274737The slowdown was caused by the uncertainty in Indian markets, and a sharp fall in equities across the board due to the start of the US-Iran conflict at the end of February."Greater participation in the broader markets, particularly across the mid- and small-cap segments, has renewed retail interest, while continued primary-market activity and increasingly seamless digital onboarding are bringing new investors into the capital markets," said Amit Majumdar, group chief strategy officer, Angel OneMajumdar said that broadening of investment opportunities beyond direct equities to ETFs, bonds and primary market issuances through digital platforms is helping deepen engagement and expand participation beyond traditional equity trading.Going ahead as well, addition of newer participants would depend on how Indian markets behave.Rathi said demat account growth is linked to market performance, investor confidence and trading activity, and will continue to be relative to these factors going ahead.

New demat account registrations in India witnessed a sharp recovery in June after slowing for the previous two months, supported by a strong rally in broader equity markets and increased retail investor participation.Data from the Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL) and the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) showed that investors opened a combined 25.7 lakh demat accounts in June, marking the highest monthly addition since February 2026, when 28.1 lakh accounts were added.The June figure was higher than the 21.7 lakh accounts opened in May and slightly above the 25.2 lakh additions recorded during the same month last year.CDSL accounted for the majority of new additions, registering 20.9 lakh new accounts during June, its strongest monthly growth in four months. NSDL added 4.8 lakh accounts, marking its highest monthly addition in nearly a year.With the latest increase, the total number of demat accounts in India crossed 23.16 crore, rising 1.1% from the previous month and 16.3% compared with the year-ago period.The improvement in account openings came amid a strong recovery in Indian equities since the beginning of April. Retail investors showed increased interest in participating in the market rally, especially as mid-cap, small-cap and micro-cap stocks delivered strong returns.Despite the market recovery beginning in April, demat additions remained relatively moderate during the first two months. Around 22.3 lakh accounts were added in April, followed by 21.7 lakh in May, before gaining momentum in June.Since April, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty have gained around 8% each. Broader markets performed even better, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index rising about 18%, the BSE 250 SmallCap Index climbing 22% and the BSE 250 Microcap Index gaining over 31%.Sensex Falls Over 550 Points, Nifty Slips Below 24,250 As Oil Prices Surge After US Strikes On Iran Improving global conditions also supported investor sentiment. Easing geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel, lower crude oil prices and improving domestic economic conditions helped boost confidence.Additionally, concerns around excessive valuations in AI infrastructure stocks and volatility in global technology markets encouraged investors to look more closely at Indian equities.Government initiatives and Reserve Bank of India measures aimed at attracting foreign investment also contributed to market stability. A revival in fundraising activities through Qualified Institutional Placements (QIPs), Offer for Sale (OFS) transactions, block deals and improving IPO activity further strengthened investor confidence.

Demat account additions rose to a four-month high in June as revived IPO activity, easing geopolitical concerns and improving market sentiment attracted more retail investors