FPIs are selling but Indian equities not under foreign-investor stress
New Delhi, Oct 18
Foreign portfolio investors net sold about Rs 8,990 crore in the Indian markets last week, with a welcome, but modest, Rs 1,166 crore of buying on the last trading day.
On the provisional exchange data, FPIs sold Rs 1,708 crore on Monday, Rs 1,305 crore on Tuesday, Rs 1,857 crore on Wednesday and a hefty Rs 5,285 crore on Thursday.
However, the Friday's buying also snapped a 15-session selling streak that had started on September 24. Over that stretch, FPIs had sold roughly Rs 84,000 crore on provisional numbers.
"October's settled equity outflow has now reached about Rs 52,100 crore, already well above September's Rs 35,861 crore, with two weeks of the month still to go. Calendar-2026 FPI equity outflows are now well over the rs 3 lakh crore mark," said Dheeraj Gaur, Chief Investment Strategy Officer, Choice Wealth.
The primary-market cushion has also become thinner. September had provided a much needed offset, with strong foreign participation in primary issues.
Comparatively, October so far, has been much quieter, said the analyst.
"There is, however, one striking disconnect: FPIs are selling, but Indian equities are not behaving like a market under foreign-investor stress," analysts noted.
The Nifty gained 2.8 per cent over the week to 23,146, while the Sensex rose 3.1 per cent. Nifty IT was the standout, jumping 11.7 per cent on optimism around AI-related revenues and technology earnings.
Domestic institutions once again played the shock absorber, buying heavily even as foreign investors continued to reduce exposure.
The IMF's upward revision of India's GDP growth forecasts for FY27 and FY28 reinforced confidence in the resilience of the domestic economy.
However, elevated crude level, rising retail and wholesale inflation, mixed global cues and persistent foreign fund outflows remained key concerns, according to market watchers.
Overall, optimism around domestic growth helped markets advance despite mounting inflationary pressures and global uncertainties. IT emerged as the standout performer on robust earnings and upbeat management commentary.
— IANS
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