Foreign-portfolio-investor inflows into Indian telecom stocks surged to a 13-month high in May, with the sector receiving $946 million, or 41% of the total overseas investment in Indian equities for the month, according to National Securities Depositories Ltd.
This was the highest monthly foreign investment in the telecom sector since April 2024, data compiled by NDTV Profit via NSDL showed.
In total, foreign investors pumped $2.3 billion into Indian stocks in May 2025. This marked the strongest monthly inflow since September 2024 — a period when Indian equity benchmarks had hit all-time highs. The surge reflects a shift in sentiment after months of muted activity by global funds.
The pickup in overseas investment came as Indian equity markets extended gains for the second consecutive month, buoyed by strong domestic fundamentals and simmering trade tensions. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 both rose more than 0.5% in May, supported in part by sector-specific inflows, such as those into telecom.
Since October 2024, overseas investors had largely been on a selling spree, with only three exceptions — December 2024, April 2025 and May 2025 — when they turned net buyers.
After telecom, the services sector was the second-most preferred destination for foreign inflows, attracting $933 million during the month, according to NSDL data. Capital goods followed with $623 million in foreign investment, while financial services drew $470 million from global institutional participants.
In contrast, the healthcare sector saw the highest outflows among all industries in May. Foreign investors pulled $306 million from healthcare stocks, according to NSDL data, making it the largest monthly withdrawal from the sector since January 2025.
Other sectors that faced heavy selling included power, with outflows of $292 million; information technology, which saw withdrawals of $285 million; and consumer durables, from which $203 million was sold by foreign funds.
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