The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has planned a slew of further relaxations to facilitate easier registrations of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), including a common know-your-client (KYC) and smoother documentation through India digital signature.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a substantial amount from Indian equities in the first half of March, driven by geopolitical tensions, rupee depreciation, and concerns about crude oil prices.
Foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) ownership in NSE-listed companies has declined to 16.9 per cent at the end of September, lowest in 15 years, the largest stock bourse said on Thursday. The domestic mutual funds' ownership climbed to 10.9 per cent in the ninth straight quarter of increase, data shared by NSE said, adding that this is on the back of strong flows into systematic investment plans (SIP).
Sensex plunges over 1,400 points and Nifty slips near 22,250 amid Trump's Iran threat, rising crude oil prices, and FII selling. Here are the key reasons behind today's market crash.
Indian equities on Dalal Street saw volatility as global market trends and fresh tariff concerns linked to Donald Trump impacted investor sentiment. Track Sensex, Nifty50 movement and key market drivers for April 2, 2026.
The Indian rupee rebounded against the US dollar following intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, amidst ongoing concerns about foreign capital outflows, rising crude oil prices, and geopolitical instability.
The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar due to a strengthening dollar, high crude oil prices, and foreign fund outflows amid geopolitical uncertainties.
The rupee plunged to a fresh low of 93.72 against the dollar on Friday, falling 1.15 per cent in a single session - its sharpest one-day decline since February 24, 2022 - as elevated crude oil prices and strong dollar demand from oil-marketing companies and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) weighed on the currency.
Domestic institutional investors, on the other hand, made a net investment of Rs 1.13 trillion during this period.
Foreign investors have aggressively sold off Indian equities, withdrawing over 48,213 crore in the first 10 days of April, following a record 1.17 lakh crore outflow in March, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, rising crude oil prices, and global inflation concerns.
'As re-industrialisation gathers pace across regions like Asia, Europe and the US, a wide range of products and inputs will see demand.'
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at premises linked to Punjab industries minister Sanjeev Arora as part of a FEMA probe into alleged foreign exchange violations, insider trading, and round-tripping of funds.
Foreign investors pulled out Rs 21,000 crore (around $2.3 billion) from Indian equities over the last four trading sessions amid deteriorating global risk sentiment triggered by the West Asia crisis.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) remained in a selling mode in January, withdrawing nearly Rs 36,000 crore (about $3.97 billion) as global uncertainties persisted. Meanwhile, a higher securities transaction tax (STT) proposed in the Union Budget may weigh on overseas investor participation in the near future.
Shares of brokerage-related companies nosedived 18 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed raising securities transaction tax on commodity futures to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent in the Union Budget 2026-27.
The Supreme Court's verdict directing Tiger Global to pay capital gains tax on its 2018 sale of Flipkart shares is unlikely to accelerate the selloff by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). However, legal and tax experts say the ruling sharpens scrutiny around treaty benefits and could influence how offshore investors structure future India bets.
Foreign investors have remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget amid expectations of limited policy changes.
Foreign portfolio investors have started 2026 on a cautious note, extending their selling streak from last year by withdrawing Rs 7,608 crore ($846 million) from Indian equities in the first two trading sessions of January. The withdrawal of funds followed the largest outflow of Rs 1.66 lakh crore ($18.9 billion) recorded in 2025, triggered by volatile currency movements, global trade tensions and concerns over potential US tariffs, and stretched market valuations.
The rupee, which was the worst performing Asian currency in 2025 and also in January, was the best performing Asian currency on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options trade with a view to discouraging small investors from speculative trading in derivatives, which led to a sharp decline in the stock market.
In the present hyper-connected world, there are many domestic and global factors that affect financial markets. Of them, the most powerful and often least predictable are geopolitical events, which often boil down to one diplomatic headline.
Domestic equities surged on Tuesday, posting their best single-day gains in more than eight months after a long-awaited trade deal between India and the US. The deal, which lowered tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent, significantly improved investor sentiment and lifted a key overhang for the market.
The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth, points out T T Ram Mohan.
Stock markets rebounded on Friday with the benchmark Sensex closing higher by 316 points after heavy buying in banking and metal shares amid optimism over trade deal progresses and India's participation in Pax Silica.
After three consecutive months of heavy selling, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers in the first week of February, infusing more than Rs 8,100 crore in Indian equities, aided by improving risk sentiment, along with a trade deal with the US.
The Reserve Bank of India on Monday issued an operational framework for reclassification of investment made by a foreign portfolio investor to foreign direct investment (FDI) if the entity breaches the prescribed limit. Markets regulator Sebi too has issued a circular on procedure for reclassification of FPI investment to FDI.
Foreign portfolio investors withdrew over Rs 22,530 crore ($2.5 billion) from Indian equities so far this month amid rising US bond yields and a stronger dollar, continuing their selling streak from last year. This came following an outflow of Rs 1.66 lakh crore ($18.9 billion) recorded in 2025, triggered by volatile currency movements, global trade tensions and concerns over potential US tariffs and stretched market valuations.
The Indian markets have delivered high long-term returns, second only to the US.
Foreign investors pulled out Rs 17,955 crore (Rs 2 billion) from Indian equities in the first two weeks of this month, taking the total outflow to Rs 1.6 lakh crore (Rs 18.4 billion) in 2025.' This sharp withdrawal follows a net outflow of Rs 3,765 crore in November, extending the pressure on domestic equity markets.
The continued MF buying has pushed the equity holding of MFs to over Rs 50 trillion for the first time.
After a brutal selloff since October, foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows for the year-to-date (YTD) in 2024 have turned negative. In early September, YTD FPI investments peaked at a record Rs 22,000 crore ($2.6 billion). This wave of selling has also pulled down benchmark indices, with the Nifty's YTD returns declining to 11 per cent from their high of 21 per cent in September.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty dived sharply by nearly 2 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives. Reversing the early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged sharply by 2,370.36 points or 2.88 per cent to slide below the 80,000-mark at 79,899.42 in afternoon trade as the finance minister announced a hike in STT on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from the current 0.02 per cent.
Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 11,820 crore ($1.3 billion) from Indian equities in the first week of this month, primarily driven by the sharp depreciation of the rupee. This sharp withdrawal follows a net outflow of Rs 3,765 crore in November, further pressuring markets.
Global risks include a potential delay in the US-India trade agreement, the possibility of a sharp correction in US equity markets, and renewed geopolitical tensions.
The SC has gone a step further to state that even if one were to not apply the codified GAAR provisions, the judicial GAAR would continue to apply, point out Pranav Sayta and Bhargav Selarka.
After a brief pause in October, foreign investors resumed selling, pulling out a net Rs 3,765 crore from Indian equities in November, driven by global risk-off sentiment, volatility in global tech stocks and selective preference for primary markets over secondary markets.
Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 26,533 crore from the Indian equity market this month so far owing to increasing allocations to China, concerns over muted corporate earnings and elevated valuation of domestic stocks. While the sell-off continues, the quantum of net outflows has significantly reduced compared to October, when Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) withdrew Rs 94,017 crore ($11.2 billion) on a net basis.
Equity markets fell on Monday, with benchmark indices recording their worst session in over two months amid caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's (Fed's) policy announcement and renewed uncertainty over the US-India trade deal. Sustained selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also weighed on sentiment.
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is stepping up efforts to ease the onboarding of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and has constituted a cell for consultations with offshore investors and custodians, said whole-time member Ananth Narayan. Sebi is also working to make regulations more "light-touch" for FPIs that invest exclusively in government securities or are sovereign funds. The regulator is trying to make the registration process easier for such FPIs, the Sebi official said at the CII Financing 3.0 Summit in Mumbai.
