DIIs turn net sellers after a month, of Indian equities worth Rs 329 crore; FIIs net sold Rs 1,623 crore

On Friday, Indian benchmark indices ended sharply lower, breaking a six-day winning streak.

For the first time since July 4, Domestic Institutional Investors turned net sellers as per provisional data on the exchange, offloading Indian equities worth Rs 329 crore. Similarly, Foreign investors (FIIs/FPIs) also stood as net sellers on Friday, August 22, offloading Indian equities worth Rs 1,623 crore.

During the trading session, FIIs bought shares worth Rs 10,179 crore and sold shares worth Rs 11,802 crore. DIIs purchased equities worth Rs 10,106 crore while selling shares worth Rs 10,436 crore.

For the year so far, FIIs have been net sellers of shares worth Rs 1.88 lakh crore, while DIIs have net bought Rs 4.74 lakh crore worth of shares.

Market Performance

On Friday, Indian benchmark indices ended sharply lower, breaking a six-day winning streak. The BSE Sensex tumbled approximately 694 points, or about 0.85%, closing at 81,306.85, while the NSE Nifty 50 dropped around 214 points (0.85%), finishing at 24,870.10.

Underpinning this broad-based decline was a palpable change in investor sentiment ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, injecting uncertainty into global markets.

Sector-wise, the downturn was widespread. IT and financials led the declines, falling roughly 0.6–0.9% as sentiment soured on rate-cut expectations and external pressures mounted.

FMCG, metals, realty, oil & gas, PSU banks, and private banks also suffered losses ranging from 0.5% to 1%, while mid- and small-cap indices slipped modestly.

On the brighter side, media stocks rose by about 1%, led by a nearly 5% jump in Zee Entertainment, and pharma gained around 0.4%, buoyed by defensive demand.

Despite the overall downturn, certain blue-chip names bucked the trend. Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, and Titan Company ended with gains, even as broader indices plunged.

In contrast, Asian Paints, Grasim Industries, Adani Enterprises, Hero MotoCorp, and UltraTech Cement were among the major laggards

Reflecting on today’s slide, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, commented that while the decline ended a six-session rally, domestic fundamentals still offer some support. He highlighted the contrast between global anxieties and India’s resilient economy, pointing to upbeat PMIs and ongoing optimism around GST reforms as factors that could buoy markets ahead.