Foreign portfolio investors pulled out $973 million from Indian information technology shares in March, marking the sector's worst monthly outflows in 11 months, data from the National Securities Depository Ltd. showed on Friday.
That came as Indian equities entered a correction zone after falling more than 10% from the September peak. Expensive valuations, weak earnings, and policy uncertainties following Donald Trump's return as US President for a second term contributed to the continued selling.
The selling from the foreign institutional investors impacted the markets, as fundamentals remained broadly unchanged, Dimensions Consulting's Ajay Srivastava told NDTV Profit, adding FII selling will likely remain a key factor to watch out for in the near term for market performance.
FPIs sold $14.5 billion worth of shares in the financial year ending March 2025, the highest annual outflows in three years. The details of investments and outflows into individual stocks were, however, not known.
The fast-moving consumer goods sector saw the second-highest outflows, with foreign investors selling $643 million in March. This marked the sixth consecutive month of selling in the sector.
IT and FMCG were followed by Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels and Consumer Services, which saw FPI outflows of $397 million and $353 million, respectively.
On the other hand, the financial services sector attracted the highest FPI inflows in March at $1.67 billion, the most in six months. The sector accounted for 73% of the total FPI inflows.
Telecommunication stocks followed with $360 million in inflows, while Metals & Mining and Realty saw inflows of $219 million and $68 million, respectively.
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