New Delhi, March 3 -- The Indian IPO market, which has seen unprecedented demand from investors in recent years, has cooled down recently as a sustained sell-off in the equity market has dented investor sentiment, causing them to move away from bidding, as evidenced by the weak subscription numbers for new issues in February.

A majority of the companies that raised funds last month have seen a lukewarm demand for their issues. Data shows that retail investors, whose portion usually sees strong demand for SME issues, received significantly lower subscriptions compared to previous months, reflecting cautious sentiment amid market volatility.

Looking at the data, 21 companies raised funds from Dalal Street investors last month, with 80% of...