Mumbai, May 13 -- India's retail investors turned selective in the March quarter, funnelling money into a narrow set of large-cap banking, metals, energy and technology stocks even as broader market participation weakened amid persistent volatility.

A Mint analysis of shareholding data for 4,489 BSE-listed companies showed that only about a quarter of listed firms witnessed a rise in retail investor participation during Q4FY26, while nearly 70% saw a decline in retail ownership.







Among the biggest beneficiaries were private sector lender HDFC Bank Ltd and state-run miner Hindustan Copper Ltd, which together added nearly 1.1 million new retail investors between December and March quarters.

Individuals holding nominal share capital ...