Mutual funds pared exposure to auto, cement, metal, FMCG, telecom, sugar, and power stocks in January. Buying was seen in engineering, information technology, banking, and chemical sectors, while stocks were re-aligned in the oil & gas pack.

Funds bought huge chunks of engineering stock KEC Infrastructure, a stock they was sold extensively last month. However, they diluted exposure to auto major TVS Motor.

In terms of value, Torrent Power, ONGC, and ICICI Bank were the top purchases by MFs, while i-Flex Solutions, HCL Technologies, and Jaiprakash Associates topped the sell list.

Among the equity IPOs that listed in January, Tanla Solutions and Lumax Auto Technologies attracted funds. Over 7.2 lakh shares of Tanla Solutions was bought by five of the top 10 MFs. SBI MF was the top investor in Tanla Solutions with over 4 lakh shares purchased. Tata, Kotak, Pru ICICI, and Birla MF also invested in this equity IPO, but HDFC exited it.

Top shares traded by MFs                           (based on volume)
Top 5 shares bought	No. of Shares
KEC Infrastructures	15,042,410
Torrent Power	11,341,536
Hindustan Motors	5,971,828
Ranbaxy Laboratories	4,196,936
GNFC	3,008,210
Top 5 shares sold	No. of Shares
TVS Motor Company	6,802,640
Hindalco Industries	6,159,339
ITC	5,494,800
Gujarat Ambuja Cements	4,086,183
Karnataka Bank	3,126,649

Meanwhile, over 3 lakh shares of Lumax Auto Technologies was purchased by HDFC MF. Other equity IPOs - Cairn India, Pyramid Saimira Theatre, Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision, and Autoline Industries that listed in January, however failed to attract funds.

A study of the top ten mutual funds' equity portfolios as on January 31, which are UTI, Prudential ICICI, Reliance, HDFC, Templeton, SBI, Birla SunLife, Tata, StanChart, and Kotak MF reveals that four of the top ten MFs bought engineering stock KEC Infrastructures. SBI and Tata MF were the top buyers in the stock with over 76 lakh and 63 lakh shares bought respectively. Reliance and HDFC MF also invested in it. Among other engineering stocks, Siemens, L&T, Greaves Cotton, and Jyoti Structures were bought extensively.

TVS Motor - the top sell was sold by two MFs. UTI MF which sold over 60 lakh shares was the top seller of the stock. Among other auto stocks, Hero Honda, Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Exide Industries, and M&M were sold, while Hindustan Motors, and JK Industries witnessed buying.

Top shares traded by MFs                           (based on value)
Top 5 shares bought	Value (Rs in cr)
Torrent Power	627.24
ONGC	259.36
ICICI Bank	193.93
Siemens	179.73
Ranbaxy Laboratories	171.49
Top 5 shares sold	Value (Rs in cr)
I-Flex Solutions	439.93
HCL Technologies	185.33
Jaiprakash Associates	141.50
Hero Honda Motors	129.59
Sun TV	110.41

Reliance MF was the sole buyer in the top value buy - Torrent Power with over 113 lakh shares bought. Among other power stocks, Gipco, Torrent Power AEC, and Reliance Energy were sold.

IT stock I-Flex Solutions - the top sell in terms of value was dumped by nine MFs. Pru ICICI MF was the top seller with over 9.7 lakh shares sold. Among other IT stocks, R Systems, Patni, and HCL Infosystems were sold, while Polaris, 3i Infotech, Geometric Software, Wipro, and TCS were among the top buys.

Among other sectors, banking, and chemical sectors witnessed buying. Banking stocks ICICI Bank, IDFC, Federal Bank, IDBI Bank, Syndicate Bank, IDBI, PNB, SBI, and UTI Bank were among the top 50 buys, while Karnataka Bank, Indiabulls, BoB, and Union Bank were sold. Chemical stocks GNFC, IPCL, United Phosphorous, and Savita Chemicals too saw buying interest.
 
Meanwhile, cement, metal, FMCG, telecom, and sugar stocks weighed heavy on the sell list. Cement stocks GAC, Jaiprakash Associates, Prism Cement, and ACC witnessed selling. Metal pivotals Hindalco, and Tata Steel were sold, and so were FMCG heavyweights ITC, and HLL. Among telecom stocks, Tata Teleservices, Aksh Optifibre, and Bharti Airtel were sold, while Reliance Communications was bought. Sugar stocks Triveni Engineering, Sakthi Sugars, and EID Parry too were sold.

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