FPI Exodus: Overseas Investors Start 2026 On A Selling Note

The exodus of Foreign Portfolio Investors continued on Thursday, the first trading day of 2026, as they remained net sellers of Indian equities for an eighth consecutive session. The FPIs offloaded stocks worth Rs 3,268.60 crore, according to provisional data shared by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India.

Domestic Institutional Investors, on the other hand, began the year on a positive note and mopped up equities worth Rs 1,525.89 crore.

On New Year's Eve, the overseas investors had sold Indian equities worth Rs 3,597.38 crore, while on Tuesday, they offloaded stocks worth Rs 3,844 crore.

There was a major exodus of FPIs from the Indian market in 2025, driven by decline in the rupee's value. They net offloaded shares worth Rs 1.66 lakh crore during the calendar year.

The overseas investors ended 2025 by net-selling equities worth Rs 22,611 crore in December.

On Thursday, the Nifty 50 managed to end with a slim gain of 0.06% at 26,146, sustaining its momentum above the 26,000 mark. However, the Sensex ended marginally lower by 32 points to close at 85,188.

While Auto, Realty, and Metal stocks saw healthy buying, the sharp slump in FMCG heavyweights capped the upside.

Market breadth remained positive for the second straight session with an advance-decline ratio of 1.14 on the BSE, suggesting that stock-specific opportunities continue to dominate the early January trade.

The Auto Index was the star performer of the day, rallying 1% on the back of positive expectations. However, the FMCG Index faced a brutal correction, shedding over 3%.