30 out of 50 Sensex, Nifty firms see drop in FII stake

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have reduced their stake in more than half of the Sensex and Nifty-listed companies during the January-March quarter of the last financial year.

According to the shareholding pattern of 50 companies available with the stock exchanges, FIIs have reduced their holding in 30 firms, including Reliance Communications (RCom), the State Bank of India (SBI) and Tata Motors, in the fourth and last quarter of the financial year. Out of these companies, FIIs have reduced their holdings in 14 firms by over 1 per cent each.

Public sector Steel Authority of India has not disclosed its latest shareholding pattern to the bourses — the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

FIIs, who pulled out over Rs 8,700 crore from the domestic equities in the three-month period, have lowered their stake from Suzlon Energy, Reliance Capital, Punjab National Bank, and Axis Bank in the range of 2-5 per cent each.
 

LOSING INTEREST
Company	FIIs stake in %		change
	Dec’ 08	Mar’ 09
Suzlon Energy	13.07	8.66	-4.41
Reliance Capital	24.06	20.43	-3.63
PNB	18.3	14.86	-3.44
SBI	10.42	7.97	-2.45
Tata Motors	9.18	7.13	-2.05
Axis Bank	25.44	23.43	-2.01
Reliance Infra	17.78	15.79	-1.99
Larsen & Toubro	13.69	11.9	-1.79
HDFC Bank	27.44	25.7	-1.74
Sun Pharma	18.84	17.1	-1.74
Source: BSE, NSE

Suzlon Energy saw the biggest decline — of 4.41 per cent — in FII holdings among the companies in the quarter. Overseas investors' stake in the wind power company now stands at 8.66 per cent from 13.07 per cent in the December quarter. Fidelity Funds Mauritius reduced its holding in the company to below 1 per cent from 3.06 per cent in the December quarter.

In Reliance Capital, FIIs' holding declined by 3.63 per cent to 20.43 per cent during the last quarter from 24.06 per cent. Quantum M, one of the FIIs, reduced its stake in the company to less than 1 per cent in the March quarter from 4.24 per cent in the previous quarter.

Reliance Infrastructure, Larsen and Toubro, Sun Pharma, Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and GAIL are the other Sensex and S&P CNX Nifty companies from which FIIs slashed their holding between 1 per cent and 2 per cent each. In RIL, Reliance Power, Tata Steel and Wipro the investors increased their stake by less than 1 per cent.

However, FIIs have increased their stake in Maruti Suzuki, Grasim Industries, Hero Honda Motors and Unitech by more than 2 per cent each during the quarter.

Insurance companies, who were the major buyers during the last financial year, have raised their holdings in Hindalco, SBI, Infosys Technologies, Punjab National Bank and HDFC Bank between 2 and 5 per cent each.