IPO Activity Remains Resilient Amid March Volatility in Indian Equities

Indian Stock Market Continues to See Listings Amid Ongoing Global Tensions

The ongoing US-Israel war with Iran hit Indian equities severely in March, dragging them to multi-month lows. However, the primary market showed resilience as the capital-raising spree continued, with nearly two dozen companies debuting on stock exchanges.

According to Trendlyne, 21 companies across both the mainboard and SME segments entered the Indian stock market in March following their fundraising programmes. This number is higher compared to 17 and 18 listings in January and February, respectively. Notably, 10 companies from the mainboard segment listed on Dalal Street, collectively raising ₹14,000 crore from investors. Raajmarg Infra Investment was the biggest IPO in terms of size at ₹6,000 crore, while Clean Max Enviro Energy and Central Mine Planning & Design raised ₹3,100 crore and ₹1,842 crore, respectively.

Despite the continued IPO momentum in March, the majority of issues received a weak response from Dalal Street, as investor enthusiasm faded amid extreme volatility in the secondary market. As many as 17 out of 21 issues received subscription levels below 10 times, while even some of the most hyped IPOs, such as Central Mine Planning & Design, saw subscription of just 1.1 times during the three-day bidding period.

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The following table shows the subscription levels for mainboard issues:

Clean Max Enviro Energy, one of the largest issues in terms of size, received a tepid response, as it was fully subscribed only on the final day of bidding and debuted on the exchanges at par with its IPO price. Even some issues with healthy subscriptions debuted poorly, with Mobilise App Lab listing 20% below its IPO price despite being subscribed 93 times during the bidding period.

Meanwhile, Accord Transformer, which was oversubscribed 738 times — the highest in March — listed at only an 8.7% premium. Among mainboard issues, Shree Ram Twistex was the only outlier, garnering a 43.7-times subscription, yet it debuted at a sharp 34.6% discount from its IPO price.

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Post-listing gains have also remained moderate, with 11 companies — or 52% of the 21 listed — trading below their issue prices, Trendlyne data showed. Losses have reached up to 67%, resulting in significant wealth erosion for early investors who remained invested in these counters. Among the worst performers are Kiaasa Retail, trading at a 67% discount to its IPO price, along with Shree Ram Twistex, Innovision, Mobilise App Lab, Clean Max Enviro Energy, Striders Impex, and Rajputana Stainless, all down between 11% and 59% from their issue prices.

On the upside, Apsis Aerocom and Accord Transformer are trading 49.3% and 25.1% higher than their IPO prices. Overall, 57 stocks have listed in the three months, with 37 of them trading below their IPO prices.

IPO listing gains have been declining in recent years, even as a growing number of companies line up to list on the Indian stock market. In 2024, the average listing gain stood at 49%. That figure dropped sharply to 10.6% in 2025, despite a record 373 IPOs — comprising 103 mainboard and 270 SME issues — listing on exchanges. In 2026, the average listing gain further declined to a single-digit figure of nearly 8%, the lowest since 2019, when it stood at 5.4%, according to Trendlyne data.