India's stock market set to overtake UK's in value, join top-five club

India’s equity market is on the cusp of overtaking that of the U.K. in value to join the world’s top-five club, at least by one measure. The likely feat comes as record-low interest rates and a retail-investing boom propel stocks in the former British colony to record highs.

India’s market capitalization has surged 37% this year to $3.46 trillion, according to an index compiled by Bloomberg, representing the combined value of companies with a primary listing there. That’s closing in on the U.K., which has seen an increase of about 9% to $3.59 trillion, though the number is much larger if