Summary of this article
Retail investors invested Rs 5,650 crore in IPOs in September
They bought Rs 10,572 crore worth of shares in the secondary market
Future buying will depend on valuations, earnings and market conditions
Retail investors continued to invest in initial public offerings (IPOs) in September even as falling share prices and market volatility weighed on sentiment. They returned to buying listed shares after two consecutive months of selling, while primary-market investments remained an important part of their equity allocation.
Retail investors made net purchases of Rs 5,650 crore in IPOs in September, compared with Rs 6,791 crore in July and Rs 5,827 crore in August, according to data compiled from the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
In the secondary market, retail investments stood at Rs 10,572 crore, as against the combined net selling of Rs 5,674 crore in July and August. This followed a net outflow of Rs 5,803 crore from the secondary market in FY26.
The investment pattern comes amid a difficult period for equities. The Sensex and Nifty fell around 6 per cent in September, their sharpest monthly decline since March. Both benchmarks were also down nearly 14 per cent in 2026 at the time.
NSE Data Shows Sustained Investment Across Both Markets
According to NSE’s Market Pulse for October 2026, individual investors invested Rs 47,642 crore in the secondary market in H1FY27. In the primary market, individual investors applying for amounts of up to Rs 2 lakh invested Rs 19,575 crore, taking their combined investment across both markets to Rs 67,217 crore as of September 30.
However, participation in the secondary market’s cash segment moderated in September. The number of individual investors active in the segment fell to 12.30 million from 12.50 million in August, while their share of cash-market turnover declined to 32.20 per cent, according to the NSE’s monthly report.
This suggests that the return to net buying did not translate into broader participation across all retail investors. Some investors may have used the correction to buy shares, while others remained cautious.
Will Retail Investors Sustain Their Buying
Retail investors continued to invest in IPOs in September despite volatility in the stock market. However, sustained demand will depend on valuations, the quality of new issues and market conditions.
In the secondary market, investors may continue buying if they find stocks available at attractive valuations. But concerns over earnings, foreign investor outflows and global uncertainty could weigh on sentiment. The same caution applies to IPOs. Strong subscription demand does not guarantee listing gains, and investors need to assess a company’s fundamentals and issue valuation before applying.
Whether retail buying holds up in the coming months will depend on market performance and the investment opportunities available to them.
