New Delhi, May 12 -- The growing clout of retail investors is hard to ignore, and so are their bets. In the March quarter, individual investors-those holding shares worth up to Rs.2 lakh- doubled down on financial services, auto and depository firms. These stocks faced steep corrections-some falling as much as 30%-yet they collectively attracted over a million new individual shareholders, on a sequential basis, defying the broader market sentiment.

The ones that saw this investor surge include Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL), Jio Financial Services, Tata Motors, and Eternal, each witnessing a steady rise in retail participation despite their declining share prices.

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