FPIs invest Rs 11,557 cr in equities in Dec; COVID updates to drive flows in near term

Prior to this, foreign investors pulled out Rs 8 crore in October and Rs 7,624 crore in September, data with the depositories showed.

”Despite correction in the markets, increasing concerns over re-emergence of COVID in some parts of the world and recession worries in the US, FPIs remained net buyers in the Indian equity markets (in December),” said Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director – Manager Research, Morningstar India.

However, the quantum of net inflow was much lower at a little over Rs 1,000 crore in the week ended December 23, compared to Rs 6,055 crore recorded in the previous week.

The fall in net inflow does indicate that foreign investors are gradually turning cautious given the recent developments and ongoing uncertainties, he noted.

”Concerns about COVID spread in China is a sentiment negative and the strong economic data from the US indicate continuation of the hawkish stance of the Fed which is pushing bond yields up and equities down. Only reversal of this trend will trigger a rebound in the market,” Vijayakumar said.

Also, in the midst of the ongoing uncertainty, many investors would also have chosen to book profits with Indian markets touching all time highs recently.

In the first half of December, FPIs were buyers in autos, capital goods, FMCG and real estate stocks, while they were sellers in consumer durables, oil and gas, power and financials.        Overall, FPIs have pulled out a net sum of Rs 1.21 lakh crore from the equity markets so far in 2022.

Foreign investors have withdrawn a net sum of Rs 2,900 crore from the debt markets during December.

Barring India, FPI flows were negative across emerging markets such as the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia so far this month.