Don't invest on the basis of market rumours, warns Sebi chief

At a time when a large number of Indians are entering the equity market, Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi has warned investors against investing on the basis of market rumours and asked them to deal only with registered intermediaries.

After the outbreak of COVID-19, the Indian equity market has witnessed a significant growth in terms of market capitalisation as well as number of new demat and trading accounts. Also, the mutual funds have seen significant inflows, Tyagi said.

"Investors need to be careful and do their due diligence while investing in securities markets. They should not invest on the basis of market rumours and should deal only with registered intermediaries," Tyagi said in a message on the occasion of the World Investor Week 2021, reported news agency PTI.

He added that Sebi has been performing the role of an educator by conducting various types of financial education and investors awareness activities. One such activity, which is undertaken every year, is the celebration of the World Investor Week (WIW).

The WIW is an initiative of International Organization of Securities Market Commission (IOSCO) and is a global event which is celebrated by securities market regulators worldwide. This year WIW is being celebrated from November 22 to November 28.

During the week, the Sebi chief said a wide range of investor awareness activities are planned across the country. These include investor awareness programmes, quiz contests, and media campaigns, among others.

"As it is said, informed investors are a protected investors. Sebi has been continuously working towards investors awareness and education as a means to investors protection," he said.

When new investors enter the market, he/she expects the markets to be efficient, investor-friendly and a safe place to invest in, he added. "Protecting investors' interest is an important mandate of Sebi. Towards this end, Sebi has always endeavored to ensure market integrity, provide investors with simplified investment processes and have a robust investor grievance redressal mechanism," Tyagi said.

Meanwhile, Sensex snapped four sessions of losses on Tuesday, as metals and energy stocks marked a sharp recovery. The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 0.5 per cent at 17,503.35 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.34 per cent to 58,664.33, after falling as much as 1.15 and 1.28 per cent earlier in the session. The indices lost nearly 4 per cent each over the last four sessions.

(With inputs from PTI)