FIIs sell Rs 526 crore, DIIs Rs 238 crore on May 19; first joint selloff in over a month

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex surrendered their early gains and slipped deep into the red on May 19, as a sharp selloff in IT and oil & gas heavyweights weighed on sentiment.

Foreign and domestic institutional investors turned cautious in tandem on Monday, marking the first simultaneous selloff in over a month. Provisional NSE data showed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded Indian equities worth Rs 526 crore on May 19, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 238 crore.

During the trading session of May 19, FIIs bought shares worth Rs 10,988 crore and sold shares worth Rs 11,226 crore. DIIs purchased shares worth Rs 11,817 crore and sold shares worth Rs 12,343 crore.

For the year so far, FIIs have been net sellers of shares worth Rs 1.09 lakh crore, while DIIs have net bought Rs 2.30 lakh crore worth of shares.

Market Performance

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex surrendered their early gains and slipped deep into the red on May 19, as a sharp selloff in IT and oil & gas heavyweights weighed on sentiment. The day began on a decent note but quickly turned south, marking a weak start to the week. The Nifty Auto index, however, offered some relief by continuing its upward momentum for a fourth straight session.

Sector-wise, the market showed mixed trends. Nifty IT was the worst performer, down 1.30 percent, followed by losses in FMCG, Oil & Gas, and Media indices. Meanwhile, volatility returned with a jolt, as India VIX spiked 4.41 percent to 17.28, reflecting rising nervousness among traders.

On the brighter side, the Nifty Realty index led gains, climbing 2.24 percent. PSU Banks followed with a 1.60 percent rise, while pharma stocks also saw traction—pushing the Nifty Pharma index up 0.75 percent. The Nifty Auto and Smallcap 100 added 0.52 percent and 0.72 percent, respectively.

The broader market continued to outshine frontline indices. Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 rose 0.1 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively—buoyed by strong institutional flows.

Top gainers on the Nifty included Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, and Power Grid Corp. Meanwhile, major laggards were Grasim, Eternal, Tata Consumer Products, Infosys, and TCS.