At 1.79 million, demat accounts opened in June fewest since Feb 2021

The total demat count now stands at 96.5 million, with 16 million new accounts getting added during the first half of 2022 - higher than 12.4 million added in the first half of 2021

New dematerialised (demat) accounts opened in June were at 1.79 million — the lowest since February 2021. Equities dropping to their 13-month lows and small- and mid-cap stocks getting hammered have taken the edge off euphoria around stock-market investing among individual investors, observe industry players.

New demat account openings have been moderating after hitting 3.5 million in October 2021, when the benchmark indices made their lifetime highs. Since then, markets have made feeble attempts at recovery, but the trend has largely been downward on headwinds like monetary tightening, Russia-Ukraine war, and rising commodity prices, among others Trading volumes have slackened