Relentless FII sellings now over as Indian economy remains resilient

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): In a clear change of strategy, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have turned buyers, and the stage of relentless FII selling is now over with the Indian economy remaining resilient despite the geo-political conditions, market watchers said on Saturday.

According to the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) data, FIIs invested Rs 24,453 crore this month (till December 6). This included Rs 17,921 crore in equity through exchanges and the rest through the primary market.

FIIs turning buyers in early December, in total reversal of their sustained selling strategy during the last two months, has altered the market sentiments, said market experts.

In October, the total FIIs selling through exchanges was Rs 113,858 crore. In November, the amount declined to Rs 39,315 crore.

According to Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, FIIs have started December on a positive note, providing a significant boost to market sentiment.

“Next week, we expect the Nifty to maintain its gradual upmove, driven by potential increase in liquidity post RBI’s CRR cut, positive news flows around government policies and return of FII inflows,” he mentioned.

The change in FII strategy is getting reflected in stock price movements, particularly in large-cap banking stocks in which FIIs have been sellers.

This segment has further room to go up since it is fairly valued and is growing at a reasonable pace, said experts.

FII have signalled a slow return. This comes as a welcome relief after the relentless selling pressure witnessed in October and November. Despite heavy FII selling, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) inflows kept the market afloat in the last two months.

Meanwhile, for the first time in eight weeks, India's forex reserves have increased by a modest $1.51 billion, reaching $658.091 billion for the week ending November 29.

For the week ended November 29, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $2.061 billion to $568.852 billion, according to the weekly RBI data.