Stocks on fund managers' radar

Buoyed by high investor inflows, equity fund managers pumped Rs 9,000 crore in just 10 stocks in October. Taking advantage of the weakness in shares of Axis Bank, they scooped up 33 million shares worth Rs 1,728 crore. HDFC Bank and HDFC were the next most-bought counters. Bharti Airtel was the most-bought stock outside the financial space, with a net investment of Rs 865 crore, most in a telecom stock in several years. Brokerages expect the company to emerge as a prime beneficiary in the domestic telecom sector’s transition to a three-player oligopoly.

Newly-listed SBI Life Insurance also featured in the most-bought list. Tata Motors made a come back after being one of the most-sold counters in September.

On the selling side, the steep rally in public sector banks was used to book profits. Fund managers sold about 40 million shares worth Rs 1,238 crore of State Bank of India. Infosys was the second-most liquidated counter. Vedanta, Hindalco and Tata Steel from the metal sector were among the 10 most-sold stocks.