Heavy buying: Record FPI outflows cross $8.5 bn this month, shows data

This month is proving to be the worst-ever month in terms of outflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Overseas funds have pulled out $8.5 billion (Rs 71,441 crore) from domestic stocks, triggering a 4 per cent fall in the Nifty 50 index. During the peak of Covid-19 selloff in March 2020, FPI outflo­ws had stood at $7.9 billion (Rs 58,632 crore). The blow from overseas selling has been cushion­ed by strong inflows from domestic institutional invest­ors (DIIs), mainly mutual funds (MFs). DIIs inflow this month largely match the selling by FPIs.

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This mirrors the trend seen during months of highest FPI selling such as June, May and February of 2022. Notably, net buying by DIIs on a year-to-date basis has topped a record Rs 4 trillion so far this calendar year. Previously, record high DII flows for a calendar year were in 2022 when they had pumped in Rs 2.8 trillion, of which Rs 1.86 trillion came from MFs. ­