Indian brokerages expand U.S. stock access as retail demand rises

Indian platforms broaden access to U.S. markets

CNBC reports that major Indian online investment platforms are opening access to U.S. stocks for millions of retail investors who want to diversify beyond domestic assets as Indian markets continue to lag. The article says this access used to be limited mainly to wealthier Indians through global banks and wealth management firms.

Groww, which Harsh Jain, the company’s chief operating officer and co-founder, said serves more than 29% of India’s 46 million active stock-market investors, launched U.S. equity trading earlier this month. Jain said the platform now offers more than 10,000 U.S. stocks, exchange-traded funds and fractional share ownership.

Early demand centers on large U.S. technology names

Jain told CNBC that the most popular names among early Groww users include Nvidia, SpaceX, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Micron and Meta. He said there is strong demand from Indian investors for U.S. stocks, especially technology companies.

CNBC also reports that Zerodha, India’s second-largest trading platform with a 15% share of active clients according to NSE data, has begun beta testing U.S. stock access and expects to launch in a few weeks. Angel One, which has 6.7 million active retail clients, is also said to be planning a U.S. stock trading launch.

Market weakness and currency pressure are cited as drivers

Nitin Jain, chief executive and director at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Singapore, told CNBC that there is “big interest” among Indians in U.S. stocks. He added that retail investors tend to favor whatever is rising, comparing the current interest to the rush into crypto a few years ago.

Somnath Mukherjee, vice president of corporate development at Zerodha, told CNBC that there has long been latent demand in India for global companies. He said the recent weakness in Indian equities, along with the lack of local artificial intelligence leaders, is pushing investors toward U.S. offerings. He also said the rupee’s decline against the dollar is encouraging investors to keep part of their portfolios in another currency.

Outflows, remittances and regulatory concerns

CNBC notes that India’s Nifty 50 has fallen nearly 13% since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained more than 12%. The article says foreign investors have pulled a record $32.5 billion from Indian direct equities since January, based on NSDL data.

The piece adds that investors have also favored South Korea and Taiwan over India because of the absence of a major Indian AI company and higher local valuations, according to experts cited by CNBC. Indian central bank data show that resident Indians sent more than $321 million overseas for investment in equity and debt in August, up 111% from a year earlier. For the financial year ended March 2026, outward remittances for equity and debt investments totaled $2.6 billion.

Tanvi Kanchan of Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers told CNBC that although retail outflows are still small relative to India’s currency reserves, the concern is that they rise when the rupee is weak and U.S. markets are strong, which could intensify pressure at a difficult time. She said investment now makes up about 11.7% of total outward remittances, compared with 5.8% a year earlier, indicating a shift from spending abroad to investing abroad. Jain of Kotak Mahindra warned that if participation keeps rising, Indian regulators could have “second thoughts” about retail access to U.S. markets.