Foreign funds infuse Rs 2,500 cr this month

Continuing with buying spree of the past few weeks, foreign funds have infused nearly Rs 2,500 crore in the Indian securities market so far this month.

From November 1-18, overseas investors have purchased stocks and debt securities worth Rs 37,755.50 crore and sold securities valued Rs 35,286.60 crore.

This translated into a net inflow of Rs 2,468.70 crore, according to the data available with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Market experts said Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been bullish on emerging markets such as India, given their better growth prospects in the wake of debt crisis in Italy and Greece.

"Over the coming months, FIIs will continue to infuse capital in the BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China," Geojit BNP Paribas Research Head Alex Mathew said.

This is the second consecutive month of net inflow in the Indian securities market.

FIIs poured a net of Rs 1,014.30 crore last month. However, in August and September, the market witnessed heavy outflows.

In August, foreign funds pulled out nearly Rs 8,000 crore, or USD 1.8 billion, from the Indian stock and debt markets -- their highest monthly withdrawal since October 2008. They withdrew Rs 1,866 crore in September.

Market analysts believe heavy selling by FIIs in August and September was triggered by the euro-zone debt crisis and a weakness in the US economy.

However, in November, FIIs put Rs 1,356.40 crore in the equity market and Rs 1,112.30 crore in debt market.

Meanwhile, the 30-share Sensex has fallen by 1,333.5 points, or 7.5 per cent, this month so far. In the last trading session, the BSE finished at 16,371.51, down 90.20 points from its previous close.

So far this year, FIIs have pumped in Rs 23,212 crore into stock and bond markets compared to about Rs 1,79,674 crore in the whole of 2010.

The number of FIIs registered with Sebi stood at 1,742 as of November this year, while the number of sub-FIIs was 6,129 during the month.