Key Details
SEBI’s September 2026 Monthly Bulletin reviews August market activity alongside regulatory measures introduced during the month.
Indicator | August 2026 finding |
|---|---|
Total primary-market fundraising | ₹1,02,737 crore, down 47% from July |
IPOs | 40 issues raised ₹30,195 crore: 18 mainboard and 22 SME IPOs |
Equity-derivatives trading | Average daily notional turnover fell 22.3% from July to ₹346.9 trillion, a 14-month low |
Foreign portfolio flows | ₹25,492 crore in net inflows across securities markets, including ₹29,631 crore in net equity inflows |
Mutual funds | Assets under management reached ₹87.1 lakh crore; monthly SIP contributions hit ₹32,297 crore |
Demat accounts | 23.8 crore accounts at August-end, following approximately 32.7 lakh net additions |
IPO Strength Masked a Fall in Wider Fundraising
India recorded 40 IPOs, raising ₹30,195 crore. It had the highest IPO count and offer value among the markets compared in the bulletin’s global review. Mainboard issues accounted for ₹28,976 crore of the amount raised.
Overall fundraising told a different story. It fell 47% month-on-month, largely because private placements of equity and debt declined. Debt nevertheless remained the larger source of primary-market finance over April–August 2026, accounting for 54% of the ₹5,98,809 crore raised. IPOs were prominent in August, but they were only one part of firms’ financing activity.
Derivatives Trading Retreated While Fund Investing Grew
The Nifty 50 declined 1.2% and the Sensex 1.5% in August, even as foreign and domestic institutional investors bought equities on a net basis. Equity cash-market average daily turnover was broadly unchanged from July and 26.8% higher than a year earlier.
Activity in equity derivatives moved the other way: average daily notional turnover fell 22.3% from July to a 14-month low. The bulletin suggests that trading may still be adjusting to the higher securities transaction tax structure introduced in April 2026; it does not establish that tax changes alone caused the fall.
Mutual-fund participation continued to expand. Contributing systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts crossed 10 crore for the first time, and monthly contributions reached a record ₹32,297 crore. These are account and contribution measures, not counts of unique investors or measures of their returns.
Corporate-Bond Issuance Is Moving Beyond the Highest Rating
Outstanding corporate bonds stood at ₹61.05 lakh crore at August-end. Among listed bonds issued during April–August 2026, AAA-rated instruments accounted for 68% of the amount raised, down from 73% in the comparable period a year earlier. The AA-rated share rose from 18% to 22%.
The change points to a broader rating mix in new issuance. It does not, on its own, establish whether investors are being adequately compensated for additional credit risk.
SEBI Changed Rules for Access, Issuance and Operational Risk
The bulletin records several August regulatory measures:
Issuance and distribution: Revised municipal-debt rules specify requirements for privately placed securities and payment arrangements for pooled issuers. Online bond platforms may offer specified additional products, subject to conditions.
Foreign-investor onboarding: SEBI permitted acceptance of digitally signed powers of attorney, removing associated notarisation or consularisation requirements. It also enabled KYC registration agencies to share information with entities regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority.
Market safeguards: Changes cover commodity-clearing stress tests and the calculation of distributable cash flows for infrastructure investment trusts.
Technology and cyber oversight: A new IT Resilience Index requires market infrastructure institutions to assess critical systems every six months and report results and corrective actions. SEBI also standardised cyber-incident reporting and launched its Cyber Suraksha Portal for market-wide alerts and guidance.
The bulletin’s international section separately tracks changes abroad, including simpler UK IPO information-sharing rules, Singapore’s measures to attract asset managers and a US consultation on derivatives linked to computing capacity. These are foreign regulatory developments, not SEBI measures.
Policy Relevance
Read fundraising beyond the IPO headline. August’s busy IPO calendar coincided with a steep fall in total capital raised. Tracking private placements and debt issuance alongside IPOs gives a more useful view of financing conditions.
Separate participation from investor outcomes. Rising demat and SIP account numbers show expanding market access; they say less about investor concentration, risk exposure or returns.
Judge resilience measures by follow-through. The IT Resilience Index and staged cyber-incident reporting could improve oversight if reported weaknesses lead to timely corrective action by exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories.
Follow the Full Bulletin Here: SEBI Bulletin – September 2026