As stock markets globally went into a tailspin taking a $2.5-trillion hit within hours of the Brexit verdict, retail investors in India took a contrarian call by turning net buyers to purchase shares worth Rs118 crore -- the highest for a day so far this fiscal.
What has come to be known as a 'Black Friday' for the markets worldwide, the day of Brexit referendum results on June 24 saw the stocks plunge sharply everywhere, including in India, where the benchmark Sensex lost nearly 1,100 points intra-day before closing the day with a 605-point crash.
In the process, the total investor wealth took a hit of nearly Rs1.8 lakh crore in the Indian stock market while the overall loss for world markets is estimated at around $2.5 trillion for the day.
The post-trading data released by the stock exchanges show that the foreign investors sold heavily while brokers also remained net sellers in their proprietary accounts.
However, domestic institutions, including state-run and private sector insurers as also domestic mutual funds, pitched in to shore up the markets from their lows and remained net buyers to the tune of Rs115 crore.
However, the biggest surprise, as per the stock exchanges' data, was the retail investors who trade as 'clients' of brokers with a net purchase higher than that of the domestic institutional investors (DIIs).
These clients bought shares worth Rs1,723.47 crore while their sales were to the tune of Rs1,605.72 crore -- making them a net buyer with Rs117.74 crore.