Foreign investors remain net buyers in Indian stocks in April

FPIs bought assets worth Rs 7,695 crore in Indian stock markets in April 2023 (till April 27), according to NSDL data.

In March, they bought assets worth about Rs 7,936 crore in Indian stock markets.

The banking crisis in the US that emanated after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in early March and the relatively strong economic outlook for India seemed to have made renewed appetite for domestic stocks.

"There were huge delivery volumes in stocks like HDFC Bank, HDFC and Tata Motors. It can be safely assumed that bulk of this delivery buying was done by FPIs. FPIs have also increased their holding in ITC.

Stocks in which FPI holding is steadily rising are showing resilience even during market weakness," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services recently said in a note.

One of the most prominent lenders in the world of technology startups, Silicon Valley Bank, which was struggling, collapsed on March 10, after a run on the bank by the depositors. Its closure led to a contagion effect and the subsequent shutting down of other banks.

In January and February, FPIs sold equities worth Rs 28,852 crore and Rs 5,294 crore, respectively. NSDL data showed. Foreign investors were apparently cautious amid risks from the then volatility in Indian stock markets.

Barring some exceptions, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) had been selling equities in the Indian markets for over a year, which started in October 2021 for various reasons.

Tightening monetary policy in advanced economies including rising demand for dollar-denominated commodities, and strength in the US dollar had then triggered a consistent outflow of funds from Indian markets. Investors typically prefer stable markets in times of high market uncertainty.

In 2022, foreign portfolio investors sold Rs 121,439 crore worth of stocks in India on a cumulative basis, the historical data available on the NSDL website showed. (ANI)