New Delhi, February 15 Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) staged a significant turnaround in early February, injecting ₹19,675 crore into Indian equities during the first fortnight, fueled by the US-India trade deal and easing global macroeconomic concerns.
These inflows followed three consecutive months of heavy selling, with FPIs withdrawing ₹35,962 crore in January, ₹22,611 crore in December, and ₹3,765 crore in November, according to data from depositories.
Overall, in 2024, FPIs withdrew a net of ₹1.66 lakh crore (USD 18.9 billion) from Indian equities, marking one of the worst periods for foreign flows. The selling was driven by volatile currency movements, global trade tensions, concerns over potential US tariffs, and stretched equity valuations.
According to the data, FPIs invested ₹19,675 crore in this month (up to February 13).
Himanshu Srivastava, Principal Manager - Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, said that the recent buying was supported by easing global macroeconomic concerns, particularly softer US inflation data, which led to a positive sentiment towards the interest rate cycle, helping stabilize bond yields and the US dollar.
This improved risk appetite towards emerging markets, including India.
Domestically, steady macroeconomic indicators, stable inflation, and broadly in-line corporate earnings reinforced confidence in India's growth outlook, he added.
Echoing similar views, Vaqarjaved Khan, Senior Fundamental Analyst at Angel One, said that the inflow was triggered by the US-India trade deal, the supportive Union Budget 2026 with fiscal stimulus, easing global trade uncertainties, and stable domestic rates.
FPIs were net buyers on seven of the eleven trading sessions in February up to the 13th, turning sellers on only four occasions. Despite this, data shows that FPIs have net sold equities worth ₹1,374 crore so far this month.
The overall figure was skewed by a sharp sell-off of ₹7,395 crore on February 13, when the Nifty declined by 336 points. The week also saw heavy selling in IT stocks amid the so-called "Anthropic shock". It is likely that FPIs aggressively sold IT stocks in the cash market, as the IT index plunged 8.2 per cent during the week ended February 13, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
