FIIs likely to turn out consistent buyers in Indian markets soon

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): After heavy selling, it now appears that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are likely to turn out consistent buyers when the market corrects further and valuations become attractive, market watchers said on Saturday. A perplexing feature of the recent FII activity is their highly erratic nature.

For instance, in the three days from November 23-25, FIIs were buyers. But in the next two days, they again turned sellers, having sold equity for Rs 16,139 crore in the Indian market. "FII selling in November is lower than that of October. In October, the total FII selling through stock exchanges was Rs 113,858 crore. In November, this had come down to Rs 39,315 crore," an expert said. This can be partly attributed to the reduced valuations caused by the correction in the market.

Earlier this week, FIIs made a substantial comeback, injecting Rs 11,100 crore into Indian equities over three sessions. This could signal renewed confidence in India's growth story amid global headwinds, providing hope for market stability in the near term, said Vikram Kasat, Head-Advisory, PL Capital-Prabhudas Lilladher. The trend of FII buying through the primary market continues. In November, FIIs bought stocks for Rs 17,704 crores through the primary market. According to experts, if we take the period up to November 29, the total FII selling for the year stands at Rs 118,620 crore. On Friday, the Indian stock market closed in green, as both the equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty witnessed a strong rally.

Sensex closed at 79,802.79 after a gain of 759.05 points or 0.96 per cent. Nifty closed at 24,131.10 after a gain of 216.95 points or 0.91 per cent. The domestic stock market increased due to better investor sentiment and stock-specific activities. According to experts, "a large-cap-driven, broad-based rally ensued in the domestic market. Discretionary sectors performed well, benefiting from the festive season". Technically, the market remains in a consolidation phase, with little change in chart structure. "Traders are advised to avoid aggressive bets and be selective. It’s also crucial to monitor global factors closely, as they could influence market direction ahead of the weekly expiry," said Rajesh Bhosale, equity technical analyst, Angel One.