FPIs stay bullish on India for third month; invest Rs 17,219 cr in April

Foreign investors were net buyers in the Indian capital markets for the third straight month in April, pouring in Rs 17,219 crore on favourable macroeconomic conditions and ample liquidity.

India has been one of the top recipients of foreign fund flows among emerging markets since February 2019 on the back of positive global sentiment, improving growth outlook, supportive macros and dovish stance taken by the RBI, experts said.

Overseas investors had put in a net sum of Rs 45,981 crore in March and Rs 11,182 crore in February in the capital markets (both equity and debt).

According to the latest depositories data, foreign portfolio investors (FPI) pumped in a net sum of Rs 21,032.04 crore into equities but pulled out a net amount of Rs 3,812.94 crore from the debt market during April 1-26, taking the total net investment to Rs 17,219.10 crore.

"Expectation of a slowdown in the global economy led several central banks to adopt a dovish stance towards interest rates in order to provide a boost to their dwindling economies.

"This augured well for the emerging markets as it improved global liquidity which has been making its way into the emerging markets and India is getting its share from that," said Himanshu Srivastava, senior research analyst, manager research at Morningstar.

Alok Agarwala, Senior VP and Head - Investment Analytics at Bajaj Capital attributed the decline of foreign flows into debt markets to "rise in crude oil prices and worries over the supply overhang" as it has diminished the hope of yields coming down further.

Sustainability of economic growth, behaviour of crude oil prices and formation of a stable government at the Centre will play significant role in the continuation of FPI flows, he added.