Fiis Net Sellers In Early November After Meltdown

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have remained net sellers in the first six trading days of November at the Indian stock markets, in the wake of the global markets meltdown.

According to latest figures from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), FIIs made gross purchases worth Rs 168.5 crore while their gross sales figures stood at Rs 246.6 crore, making them a net seller of Rs 77.9 crore till November 6.

During the last week of October when the global stock markets came under heavy selling pressure as currency depreciation fears grew, the FII selling pressure at the Indian capital markets continued.

On October 29, which was the first day of the fresh settlement at the NSE, the FIIs made purchases worth Rs 87.4 crore, while they sold shares worth Rs 55 crore, making them a net buyers of Rs 32.4 crore in the Indian markets.

This being the first day of the fresh settlement and also the fact that the global markets firmed up on the same day saw the NSE index also moving up. However, on October 30, the day of moorat trading, the major indices dropped once again following the global trend, with the FIIs selling stocks worth Rs 3.4 crore. On this day, the FIIs made purchases worth Rs 35.3 crore and they sold shares worth Rs 38.7 crore, which made them net sellers.

However, the FIIs have remained net buyers during the entire month of October with a total buy of Rs 1573.6 crore and sales worth Rs 925.9 crore, making them a net buyer of Rs 647.6 crore. In September, the net FII investment into the country remained at Rs 621.57 crore.

The shadow of political uncertainty seems to be lengthening over the markets. The government must move fast and hard on the reform process. There is no use pussy-footing about the whole thing,'' an official with a leading Central European global investment bank said. Surces said with redemptions for many of the funds coming up, some more selling is likely to come in.