Mood swing: Investors desert brokerages

AHMEDABAD: Suddenly, parking at Kaamdhenu complex near Ambawadi in Ahmedabad has become hassle-free. There are no visitors to the building that houses offices of more than 100 brokers. Investors who would otherwise block the street outside with haphazard parking of their two-wheelers are staying off their brokers.

Already bruised on January 22, investors have further been hurt by the Monday’s crash. Further, owing to the financial year-end, people are postponing all market-related decisions to the next fiscal. A top brokerage house even closed one of its offices in Ahmedabad and moved operations to a central location.

Amit Shah, a dealer at a brokerage, took a break from his one-line replies given between phone calls to explain that he has lost 75% of this trading volume recorded in early January. On Tuesday, Mr Shah had all the time to talk. His clients were either in a wait mode or did not visit his office to avoid payment of the dues.

Says an investor, Kirti Thapa, deputy manager in a PSU: “I will reinvest when I have adequate liquidity. At present, I own a portfolio of Rs 75,000 and wish to augment the same.”

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.comAhmedabad or Ahmadabad is the largest city in Gujarat and the 7th largest city in India, with a population of 5 million. The city is also sometimes called Karnavati, an older name and known as Amdavad in Gujarati. Ahmedabad is the administrative center of Ahmedabad District, and was the former capital of Gujarat State from 1960 to 1970, when Gandhinagar replaced it.