Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net sellers on Friday, withdrawing ₹1,167.05 crore from Indian markets after two consecutive days of net buying, according to data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).
The selling on October 24 was primarily led by equities, where FPIs pulled out ₹796.83 crore, marking a sharp reversal from the net inflow of ₹764.34 crore recorded on October 23. On October 20, FPIs had invested ₹882.21 crore in equities, indicating volatile sentiment through the shortened Diwali week.
“The declining trend in FII selling which started in early October continues. FIIs turned buyers too in many days of October. Total FII selling through exchanges up to 25th October stood at a negligible ₹3,363 crore,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
The debt segment witnessed mixed flows during the week. On Friday, FPIs sold ₹408.07 crore through the Fully Accessible Route (FAR), reversing the strong inflows of ₹1,218.03 crore and ₹1,399.24 crore seen on October 23 and October 20, respectively. Debt investments under the General Limit also saw an outflow of ₹41.74 crore on Friday, while Debt-VRR recorded a withdrawal of ₹39.96 crore.
However, hybrid schemes attracted net inflows of ₹115.73 crore on October 24, significantly higher than the ₹6.36 crore and ₹42.89 crore invested on October 23 and October 20, respectively.
“The long-term trend of FIIs continuously buying/investing through the primary market continued in October, too, with a total investment of ₹10,692 crore up to 25th,” Vijayakumar added. “Investing through the primary market has been a steady source of profit for the FIIs and, therefore, this trend is likely to continue.”
Over the three days, FPIs’ cumulative net investment stood at ₹1,037.78 crore across all asset classes. While equities saw a net inflow of ₹849.72 crore for the period, debt investments remained volatile with FAR debt recording the highest net inflow of ₹2,209.20 crore.
Market analysts point to several factors that could influence FPI flows in the coming weeks. “Going forward, there are certain important factors that may lead to FIIs turning buyers in India. One, the valuation differential between India and other markets has declined discouraging further FII selling in India and moving money to other markets. Two, earnings growth in India is slowly picking up and will gather momentum in FY27,” Vijayakumar said.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted that “FIIs continued to be net cash sellers to the tune of ₹865.53 crore as of Oct’25 (Till date).” He added that “Indian markets were buoyed by news reports of a trade deal with the US, which may see a sharp reduction of US tariffs. Indian markets also priced in a decent set of Q2FY26 earnings, which were broadly in line with expectations so far.”
“There are indications of a trade deal between India and US which can substantially improve market sentiments. These factors have the potential to turn FIIs into buyers in the Indian market. However, at higher levels they may again turn sellers, thereby restricting a sustained rally in the market,” Vijayakumar cautioned.
The Nifty 50 index ended the week at 25,795.15 after coming close to its all-time high during the Diwali week, while the Sensex closed at 84,211.88. The benchmark indices witnessed profit booking after a sharp rally of over 1,500 points on the Nifty from its low of 24,588 within 15 trading sessions.