Proprietary traders (prop), or brokers transacting for themselves, have surpassed the market share of individual or direct retail investors on the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) equities cash segment for the first time in over two decades, according to exchange data.
Prop share of cash segment turnover surged to 34.3% in January, up 340 basis points (bps) month-on-month from 30.9% in December and 360 bps higher than January 2025’s share of 30.7%. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
For the first time in 22 years, prop market share was higher than the 32.5% share of individual or retail investors last month, per NSE data.
Proprietary traders emerged as the dominant category, surpassing individual investors’ share for the first time since 2003, contributing 57% of the incremental turnover versus 23% by individual investors, noted NSE.
Turnover spike
NSE’s equity cash segment turnover touched a 16-month high of ₹23.92 trillion in January. On a month-on-month basis, it was up 15%, and on a year-on-year basis, it rose 8%.
Monthly turnover in the equity CM segment rose to ₹23.9 trillion despite fewer trading days than December 2025, indicating stronger underlying intensity of activity. Average daily turnover (ADT) increased to ₹1.2 trillion, also a 16-month high, growing 27% MoM and 24% YoY, per NSE data.
“Notably, the rise in turnover coincided with an increase in average trade size to ₹33,559, a 56-month high. This indicates that the growth in ADT was driven more by higher-value trades than by a broad-based increase in smaller participants, reinforcing continued concentration among larger traders,” noted the exchange in its research publication Market Pulse.
Volatility factor
The Nifty 50 gyrated 5.5% between a record high of 26,373.2 on 5 January and a low of 24,932.55 on 27 January. This was more than the 2.4% swing between high and low seen in December 2025.
“Greater the volatility, higher the trading interest and greater the turnover,” said Amit Chandra, VP (research), HDFC Securities, in an earlier interaction with Mint.
Agreed SK Joshi, consultant, Khambatta Securities.
“Traders love volatility and that was elevated in January on market anticipation of a trade deal being struck between the US and India,” Joshi said.
An interim deal was indeed announced on 2 February wherein the punitive tariff of 25% was removed and reciprocal tariff was cut to 18% from 25% earlier. The revised levy is expected to come into force shortly, even as the final contours of the deal are likely to be reached in March.
The surge in prop activity alongside a rise in average trade size suggests increasing dominance of larger, higher-value participants in the cash market.