FPIs infuse Rs 17,722 cr into Indian markets in November so far; still wary

Overseas investors pumped in a net sum of Rs 17,547.55 cr into equities and Rs 175.27 cr in the debt segment during November 1-22, taking the cumulative net investment to Rs 17,722.82 cr

Continuing their buying spree, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) infused a net Rs 17,722 crore into the Indian markets in November so far amid encouraging domestic and global cues.

According to depositories data, overseas investors pumped in a net sum of Rs 17,547.55 crore into equities and Rs 175.27 crore in the debt segment during November 1-22, taking the cumulative net investment to Rs 17,722.82 crore.

FPIs were net buyers in the preceding two months as well. They infused a net Rs 16,464.6 crore in October and Rs 6,557.8 crore in September into the domestic capital markets (both equity and debt).

However, some experts said FPIs are still wary of increasing their allocation to the Indian markets.

Umesh Mehta, head of research at Samco Securities said, "FPIs have become relatively cautious on India given the high valuations and Nifty hovering near its all-time high levels. Huge divergence between the large and small/midcaps is making them weary to commit further in a big way to the Indian bourses." Also, the expectation of weaker GDP numbers in the coming months, among other factors, is making them "hesitant to invest full throttle", he added.

Himanshu Srivastava, senior analyst manager research at Morningstar Investment Adviser India, said the buying broadly indicates that FPIs continue to build conviction on the Indian equity markets since "positive domestic and global environment has ensured that FPIs are hooked to the Indian equities".

He added that "this trend is expected to continue over the short-term provided there are no surprises and domestic and global environment continue to be conducive." Commenting on the future trajectory of FPI flows, Harsh Jain, co-founder and COO at Groww, said that "for inflows to be very large in quantity, we might have to wait a bit longer or hope for some big economic factors to play out."