Major Indian online investment platforms are unlocking access to U.S. stocks for millions of retail investors, driven by a persistent domestic market slump and surging local demand for major technology assets such as NVIDIA and Apple, CNBC reported.
The feature rollout allows everyday retail clients to bypass traditional wealth management channels that previously restricted global market access to wealthier demographics. Groww, a major platform accounting for more than 29% of India’s 46 million active stock brokerage investors, rolled out the U.S. equity trading feature earlier this month, according to Harsh Jain, the company’s chief operating officer and co-founder.
Retail Portfolios Shift Toward U.S. Tech Giants
Early users on the Groww platform are heavily favoring prominent U.S. technology corporations. Alongside NVIDIA and Apple, investors are directing capital into SpaceX, Alphabet, Amazon, Micron, and Meta through fractional share offerings spanning more than 10,000 U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds, Harsh Jain told CNBC.
BIG NEWS FOR INDIAN INVESTORS 🚨Groww, Zerodha, Angel One, and Upstox have received approval to offer US stock investing through GIFT City.Soon, millions of Indian investors could get direct access to companies like Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and SpaceX from their favorite…
Competitor platforms are rapidly following suit to capture the expanding cross-border trading volume. Zerodha, the second-largest trading platform with a 15% active client share according to NSE data, has begun beta testing U.S. stock access with a full public launch scheduled in the coming weeks, the company told CNBC. Meanwhile, Angel One, supporting 6.7 million active retail clients, is reportedly planning to launch U.S. stock trading on its platform.
Nitin Jain, chief executive and director at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Singapore, told CNBC that retail investors exhibit a tendency to chase upward momentum, drawing parallels to previous local interest in cryptocurrency assets. Somnath Mukherjee, vice president of corporate development at Zerodha, noted that latent demand for global equities has intensified due to the underperformance of domestic markets and the absence of domestic artificial intelligence market leaders.
Macroeconomic Pressures and Outward Remittances
The push toward international assets coincides with a broader contraction in India’s benchmark equity gauges and substantial foreign capital flight. India’s benchmark Nifty 50 index has declined nearly 13% since the start of the year, contrasted with a gain exceeding 12% for the S&P 500. Concurrently, foreign institutional investors have withdrawn a record $32.5 billion in direct equities since January, based on data from Indian depository NSDL.
Currency dynamics are further accelerating the shift. The depreciation of the Indian rupee against the dollar is encouraging investors to hedge currency risk, Mukherjee explained. Central bank figures indicate that resident Indians directed over $321 million overseas for equity and debt investments in August, representing an 111% increase compared to a year ago. For the financial year ended March 2026, total outward remittances for equity and debt investments reached $2.6 billion.
This capital migration has elevated investment allocations to approximately 11.7% of total outward remittances, up from 5.8% a year prior. Tanvi Kanchan, associate director, head of international business and strategy at Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers, told CNBC that retail outflows risk amplifying currency pressure during periods of rupee weakness and U.S. market strength. The convergence of foreign capital exits and elevated energy import costs stemming from the Iran war has already prompted central bank intervention, while Kotak’s Jain warned that expanding retail participation could eventually draw heightened regulatory scrutiny.
| Metric / Asset | Performance / Value |
|---|---|
| Nifty 50 Index YTD Return | Down nearly 13% |
| S&P 500 YTD Return | Up over 12% |
| Foreign Equity Outflows (Since Jan) | $32.5 billion |
| August Outward Remittances (Equity/Debt) | $321 million (Up 111% YoY) |
| FY 2026 Outward Remittances (Equity/Debt) | $2.6 billion |
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
