FPI Selling Streak Is Now Longest In A Decade. Here's What They Bought And Sold In April

Foreign investors pulled out of Indian equities for the seventh straight month, the longest stretch of exodus in at least a decade, as volatility surged amid soaring inflation and the ongoing geopolitical unrest.

Overseas investors sold stocks worth $2.24 billion (Rs 17,143 crore) in April and $22 billion (Rs 1.66 lakh crore) over the last seven months, according to National Securities Depository Ltd.'s data.

It's the longest streak of withdrawal since the fortnightly data became available in January 2012.

The FPI withdrawal coincides with volatility in Indian markets starting October, and amplified by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. The selling continued in April as Nifty 50 lost more than 2%. The benchmark has fallen in three of the four months so far this year—the exception being near 4% rise in March.

What FPIs Bought And Sold In April

Foreign investors withdrew the most from financial services in April, followed by information technology and capital goods. They, however, pumped money into healthcare, fast-moving consumer goods and automobile and auto parts makers.

Financial services have now seen an outflow for the seventh month in a row.

The Nifty Bank index declined 0.78% in April, led by near 6% drop in shares of HDFC Bank Ltd. and 4.2% fall in Axis Bank Ltd.

FPIs also remained net sellers of IT stocks for the eighth consecutive month.

All constituents of Nifty IT index fell during the month. Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd. led the decline at 21.4%, followed by L&T Technology Services Ltd. (-19.9%), Infosys Ltd. (-17.8%), and Mindtree Ltd. (-17.5).

Looking Ahead

This is the worst start to a year with FPIs pulling out in each of the first four months. The benchmarks logged their worst week in more than five months as they entered May, adding to concerns that the foreign selling may continue.