Foreign portfolio investors increased their holding in consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, oil & gas and information technology sectors in the quarter ended June as they bet on defensive stocks during the pandemic.
FPIs increased their stake by more than 50 basis points sequentially in these sectors, according to a report by Axis Capital. They, however, reduced stake in banking and financial services, auto, metals and realty.
Overseas investors' holding in Nifty 50 stocks stood at 25.7% in the quarter ended June as they raised stake in companies such as Asian Paints Ltd., HDFC Standard Life Insurance Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., among others.
That came as Indian markets staged a comeback after their worst quarterly selloff in January-March because of the the Covid-19 pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 18.5%, while the NSE Nifty 50 index gained 19.8% in the three months ended June.
