HDFC Bank stock closes 3% lower as foreign portfolio investors go slow

Less than 14 million shares bought as against room for 43.6 million

Contrary to market expectations, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) showed little appetite on Monday for shares of the country’s highest valued lender, HDFC Bank, even as the window for more buying of its stock opened after more than a year.

The earlier occasion when the FPI window had opened in February 2017, there was huge rush to buy the stock. On Monday, according to data from the stock exchanges, only 14 million shares of the private sector lender were earmarked for delivery; there was room to buy 43.6 mn. Assuming all the delivery-based buying took place by FPIs, this was still