Foreign investors turn net buyers in Indian stock market for second month

NEW DELHI: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have become net buyers for the second month in March in Indian stock markets. They had aggressively sold Indian stocks and turned net sellers in the Indian equity market in January 2024.

The latest data available from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed that the FPIs bought stocks worth Rs 35,098 crore in March. In February, they bought stocks worth Rs 1,539 crore.

Firm GDP growth forecasts, inflation at manageable levels, political stability at the central government level and signs that the central bank is done tightening its monetary policy have all contributed to painting a bright picture for the Indian economy.

India's GDP grew at a massive 8.4 per cent during the October-December quarter of the current financial year 2023-24 and the country continued to remain the fastest-growing major economy. Coming back to FPIs, in January, they sold equities in India worth Rs 25,744 crore, NSDL data showed.

The foreign portfolio sold aggressively in January after making a beeline to accumulate domestic stocks during the prior two months--November and December.

In December, they accumulated stocks worth Rs 66,135 crore. In November, the FPI inflow was Rs 9,001 crore, NSDL data showed.

To put it into context, the entire year saw an inflow of about Rs 171,107 crore, and notably, over one-third of it came in December. The strong inflow of funds from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) had then supported the benchmark stock indices to march towards all-time highs.

Before November, FPI participation in Indian stocks was lukewarm, and they had turned net sellers. They sold Rs 14,768 crore and Rs 24,548 crore, in September and October, respectively.

Before that, FPIs bought Indian stocks worth Rs 7,936 crore, Rs 11,631 crore, Rs 43,838 crore, Rs 47,148 crore, Rs 46,618 crore, and Rs 12,262 crore in March, April, May, June, July, and August respectively, data showed.