Investor sentiments soured in the first 50 days of Modi 2.0, with stock investors losing nearly Rs 12 lakh crore worth of wealth within a short period. The market value of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)-listed stocks have plunged by Rs 11.70 lakh crore, or 7.5 percent, to Rs 144 lakh crore from the recent high of Rs 156 lakh crore hit on June 3. Modi assumed office on May 30. Nine of every 10 stocks (2,294 out of 2,664) that traded on BSE is in the red since then; over 60 percent of stocks (1,632) are down over 10 percent, while one-third of them (903) have slipped over 20 percent.
While the government has made sure it does not deviate from fiscal prudence, a few Budget proposals such as the surcharge in the high income-tax brackets and the proposal to increase the minimum public float of listed companies to 35 percent from 25 percent have been seen as negatives by market participants. Slowing growth is another problem for an economy that aspires to acquire a size of USD 3 trillion this year and USD 5 trillion by 2024.
