Biggest FII outflow in over two months: Foreign investors sell Rs 10,016 crore, DIIs buy Rs 6,738 crore

Markets kicked off the week on a sour note, with the Nifty and Sensex extending their losing streak to a third straight session on Tuesday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak for the second straight session on Tuesday, offloading equities worth Rs 10,016 crore—their steepest single-day selloff in over two months (Feb 28), according to provisional NSE data. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided some support to the market with net purchases of Rs 6,738 crore.

During the trading session of May 20, FIIs bought shares worth Rs 14,789 crore and sold shares worth Rs 24,804 crore. DIIs purchased shares worth Rs 15,376 crore and sold shares worth Rs 8,638 crore.

For the year so far, FIIs have been net sellers of shares worth Rs 1.19 lakh crore, while DIIs have net bought Rs 2.37 lakh crore worth of shares.

Market Performance

Markets kicked off the week on a sour note, with the Nifty and Sensex extending their losing streak to a third straight session on Tuesday. A sea of red swept across all 13 sectoral indices, led by sharp cuts in auto, banking, and FMCG stocks. The broader market, too, lost steam, snapping a six-day winning run and reflecting the depth of the selloff.

On a weak trading day, all NSE sectoral indices were in the red. The Nifty Auto index was among the worst performers, falling 2.2 percent, snapping a four-day ageing streak. Meanwhile, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Pharma declined 1.01 percent and 0.92 percent, respectively. The Nifty Bank index slipped 0.98 percent, with losses seen in both private and PSU banking stocks. Other notable laggards included Nifty Realty (0.72 percent) and Nifty Infra (0.77 percent).

In the near term, the market is likely to move to a consolidation phase. The high valuations will put a cap on the upside, with institutional selling emerging on the upside. This was evident from the institutional activity yesterday when both FIIs and DIIs emerged sellers, though marginally, V K Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments Limited said.

Coal India, ONGC, Hindalco, Tata Steel, and Dr Reddy's were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards on the index included Eternal (Zomato), Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance and Maruti Suzuki.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.