FIIs resume buying with Rs 2,202 crore purchase; DIIs pump Rs 684 crore on May 21

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex staged a smart rebound on Wednesday, May 21 to snap a three-day losing streak as auto, IT, and pharma stocks led the recovery.

After 2 days of selling, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) resumed their buying streak, purchasing Rs 2,202 crore on May 21, provisional data from the NSE showed. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued buying for a second session in a row, mopping up Rs 684 crore. On Tuesday, FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 10,016 crore—their steepest single-day selloff in over two months (Feb 28).

During the trading session of May 21, FIIs bought shares worth Rs 13,356 crore and sold shares worth Rs 11,194 crore. DIIs purchased shares worth Rs 10,556 crore and sold shares worth Rs 9,872 crore.

For the year so far, FIIs have been net sellers of shares worth Rs 1.17 lakh crore, while DIIs have net bought Rs 2.38 lakh crore worth of shares.

Market Performance

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex staged a smart rebound on Wednesday, May 21 to snap a three-day losing streak as auto, IT, and pharma stocks led the recovery. Broader markets also ended higher, though they underperformed the frontline indices in the second half of the session.

"There's an absence of any major domestic triggers amid global uncertainties. Intermediate volatility in the US markets and concerns over the potential impact of the US-China trade deal on foreign institutional inflows into emerging markets, including India, can weigh on sentiment yesterday," said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President of Religare Broking.

The broader market, represented by the Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices, rose 0.8 and 0.4 percent, respectively. Ruchit Jain of Motilal Oswal said the midcap segment continues to show strength and is forming a higher high and higher low pattern, which indicates sustained buying interest. Market breadth has also remained positive in recent days, further reinforcing the strength in broader markets. It is advisable to be cautious with small-cap stocks with stretched valuations.

Top gainers on the Nifty included Bharat Electronics, Cipla, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, and HDFC Life. Top losers on the Nifty were IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Coal India, and Grasim.