Equity MFs turn aggressive sellers in July, shares worth Rs 9,000 cr sold

Equity mutual funds (MFs) turned aggressive sellers in July, even as the markets capped their best two-month performance in more than a decade. 

They sold shares worth more than Rs 9,000 crore during the month, taking advantage of a 7.5 per cent gain in the Nifty. RIL, HDFC Bank, and HDFC remained the most-sold counters. 

Money managers sold Rs 6,674 crore worth shares in RIL, even as the stock rallied 21 per cent in July. HDFC Bank and HDFC also saw selling worth Rs 2,072 crore and Rs 1,546 crore, respectively. TCS, PI Industries, and ACC saw maximum MF buying. 

 

 

However, buying was muted at top counters. Market players say the selling by MFs in July can be attributed to two factors. 

One, profit-taking at higher levels and second, redemption pressure. 

Redemptions in equity schemes were up 22 per cent at Rs 16,622 crore in July and net outflows stood at nearly Rs 2,500 crore — most in seven years.  Samie Modak