IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA SENTIMENT ON STOCK MARKET INVESTMENT DECISIONS: EVIDENCE FROM INDIAN RETAIL

Social media sites have changed the way investing works drastically by giving investors immediate access to market information, ideas and financial conversations. Social media like Twitter (X), Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn have emerged as key outlets for investors to share information and share feelings about market movements. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of social media sentiment on stock market investment decisions amongst Indian Retail investors. The study explores how the sentiment of social media influences investor confidence, SMD stock market participation, and SMD investment decision. Various statistical tools, such as descriptive analysis, reliability testing, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis, are suggested to analyse the relationship between the variables. The results suggest that a more favorable sentiment of social media positively boosts investors' trust and stimulates investment behavior, while a negative sentiment raises uncertainty and risk for investors. This research findings would be helpful for investors, financial institutions, policymakers and financial market regulations in understanding the influence of social media on investors' investment behavior.