Foreign investors have remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget amid expectations of limited policy changes.
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.
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.
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 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.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) infused Rs 22,615 crore into Indian equities in February, marking the highest monthly inflow in 17 months, driven by factors such as the interim India-US trade deal, correction in domestic market valuations, and strong corporate earnings.
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.
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.
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.
Domestic mutual funds have infused the highest ever -- Rs 4.84 trillion -- this year amid strong inflows via SIPs.
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.
FPIs net sold equities worth Rs 1.7 trillion in 2025 -- the highest annual net sale on record.
Fears around artificial intelligence (AI) sparked a global selloff in information technology (IT) stocks, dragging down domestic software shares and prompting the heaviest foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows since the second half of July 2025.
Entities controlled by governments - sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds - have recorded higher growth in equity assets under custody compared to other foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) over the past five years.
Indian equities declined on Friday, with the benchmark Nifty posting its worst weekly fall since September, as foreign investor sentiment remained weak amid tepid earnings growth and little progress on the India-US trade front.
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.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers of Indian equities in September, withdrawing Rs 23,885 crore (around $2.7 billion) and taking year-to-date outflow to Rs 1.58 lakh crore ($17.6 billion).
After withdrawing money on a net basis for the past three months, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned buyers with a Rs 6,480 crore investment in October so far, driven by strong macroeconomic factors.
The first day of the year 2026 was positive for the debt market with foreign investors buying a net domestic debt of Rs 7,524 crore, the highest single-day inflow since May 29 last year.
The rupee witnessed a volatile trading session and settled for the day on a slightly lower note, down 1 paisa at 90.66 against the US dollar on Monday, as traders assessed the details of the India-US interim trade framework.
Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 1.42 trillion in 2025, with their sales hitting Rs 12,257 crore in the first four trading days of September.
The rupee, which was the worst performing Asian currency in 2025 and also in January, was the best performing Asian currency on Tuesday.
Foreign investors fled Indian equities in 2025 at a scale never seen before, pulling out a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore (USD 18 billion) as volatile currency movements, global trade tensions, especially potential US tariffs, and stretched valuations eroded risk appetite, though flows are expected to turn sustainably positive in 2026.
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 rupee witnessed its worst single-day decline in around two months since November 21, 2025, due to demand for dollars among importers, said dealers. The maturing short positions in the non-deliverable forwards market further weighed on the local currency.
Global funds' assets under custody (AUC) in India have been flat this year, with a Rs 2 trillion drop in information technology (IT) holdings offset by gains in financial stocks. AUC is the total market value of equities held by FPIs.
Foreign investors pulled out Rs 34,993 crore (around $4 billion) from Indian equity markets in August, making it the sharpest sell-off in six months, weighed down by US tariffs on Indian exports and pricey domestic valuations. The withdrawal was nearly double the Rs 17,741 crore outflow recorded in July.
Foreign investors have pulled out nearly Rs 18,000 crore from Indian equities so far this month, weighed down by escalating US-India trade tensions, disappointing first-quarter corporate earnings, and a weakening Indian rupee. With this, the total outflow by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in equities has reached Rs 1.13 lakh crore so far in 2025, according to data from the depositories.
Stock market is gearing up for an eventful week ahead where key triggers such as quarterly earnings from corporates, the US Fed interest rate decision and the upcoming Union Budget for 2026-27 would grab the limelight, analysts said.
Foreign investors offloaded Indian equities worth nearly Rs 21,000 crore in the first half of August, pressured by US-India trade tensions, lacklustre first-quarter corporate earnings, and a weakening rupee.
The rupee slumped 5 per cent in 2025 as persistent capital outflows from foreign investors, alongside heightened dollar demand from importers, making it one of the worst-performing Asian currencies.
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.
'The first time India has seen two consecutive blockbuster IPO years.'
You can't be the second-most expensive market in the world and deliver just 10 per cent EPS growth, points out Akash Prakash.
The continued MF buying has pushed the equity holding of MFs to over Rs 50 trillion for the first time.
Foreign investors continue to exhibit confidence in the country's equity market, injecting Rs 19,860 crore in May driven by favourable global economic indicators and strong domestic fundamentals. This positive momentum follows a net investment of Rs 4,223 crore in April, data with the depositories showed.
Stock markets are likely to trade in a range-bound manner in a holiday-shortened week where trading activity of foreign investors, currency movement and global macroeconomic data announcements are expected to drive sentiments, analysts said. Several global markets may see subdued activity on account of Christmas and New Year holidays, an expert said.
Companies are squeezing more profits from their operations relative to the capital they put to work, the highest now since 2011. Profit after tax relative to capital employed came in at 10.47 per cent in September, shows data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the 8.41 per cent seen in September last year. This is the highest since March 2010.
The rupee fell 23 paise against the greenback to settle at a new all-time low of 91.01 (provisional) on Tuesday, weighed down by relentless foreign fund outflows, no breakthrough in India-US trade deal, and persistent US dollar buying.
After investing a staggering amount in May, foreign investors turned net sellers with a withdrawal of Rs 8,749 crore from the Indian equity markets in the first week of this month triggered by renewed US-China trade tensions and rising US bond yields. This momentum follows a net investment of Rs 19,860 crore in May and Rs 4,223 crore in April, data with the depositories showed.
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