Zerodha saw biggest day of stocks bought on Thursday as markets crashed

Global as well as Indian domestic equities were hammered on Thursday as they tumbled as much as 5%, after Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of starting a military operation in Ukraine. Oil prices have also been rising amid the ongoing crisis and on worries about supply disruptions.

Online stock brokerage firm Zerodha's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Nithin Kamath said that Thursday was the brokerage's biggest day in terms of stocks bought as investors took opportunity of the market crash.

“One big reason for our growth over the last few years is that most investors made profits. We consciously don't provide leverage to invest. So on Thursday, when markets were down 5%, no one was forced to sell. In fact, it was our biggest day in terms of stocks bought,” Kamath said in a tweet while explaining how investing using borrowed money reduces the odds of profitability significantly because of interest and margin requirements.

The volatility in the stock markets has continued in the past few sessions as Russia-Ukraine crisis worsened after which western nations ramped up sanctions on Russia, while a Ukrainian delegation arrived for talks with Moscow on the border with Belarus.

Benchmark BSE Sensex recovered from early lows to close higher for the second straight session on Monday, mirroring a rebound in Asian equities, even as the Ukraine crisis continued to roil western markets. India's currency, debt and equity markets are closed on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, for a holiday. Markets will resume trading on Wednesday, March 2.

Zerodha, the Bengaluru-based brokerage, began operations in August 2010. The startup was launched by brothers Nithin and Nikhil Kamath with their own funds and has zero debt. The retail brokerage firm has over 8 million customers that trade in stocks, currencies, commodities, mutual funds, bonds through the Zerodha app.