FPIs sell Rs 14,116 crore in equities in first half of September; financials, auto lead outflows

According to fresh market updates, Foreign portfolio market participants (FPIs) turned sellers of Indian equities in the first half of September, offloading Rs 14,116 crore between September 1 and 15, according to NSDL data, as selling intensified across financial services, automobiles and several other major sectors.

The shift came after a firm August, when FPIs were net buyers of around Rs 29,631 crore in equities for the full month. The change in flows was particularly visible in financial services and automobiles, with both sectors moving from buying in August to heavy selling in the first half of September.

Financial services saw the biggest FPI outflow during September 1-15 at Rs 6,204 crore. This was a sharp reversal from the Rs 6,535 crore of buying recorded during August 1-15. The sector as a result saw a shift of Rs 12,739 crore between the two periods.

Automobile and auto components followed, with FPIs selling Rs 2,670 crore in the first half of September, compared with buying of Rs 4,405 crore during August 1-15.

Oil, gas and consumable fuels additionally moved from buying to selling. FPIs bought Rs 490 crore in the sector during August 1-15 but sold Rs 2,385 crore in the first half of September.

Information technology saw a similar change. FPIs bought Rs 2,530 crore of IT stocks during August 1-15 but sold Rs 960 crore between September 1 and 15.

Consumer durables additionally moved into the selling column, with outflows of Rs 397 crore in the first half of September compared with inflows of Rs 1,472 crore during August 1-15.

Selling was additionally firm in FMCG, where FPIs offloaded Rs 2,029 crore in the first half of September, compared with Rs 189 crore of selling during August 1-15. In power, selling increased to Rs 1,653 crore from Rs 1,164 crore over the same periods.

Healthcare, construction see buying

The trend was not uniform across sectors. Healthcare remained a major area of FPI buying, attracting Rs 2,114 crore in the first half of September, although this was softer than the Rs 2,910 crore invested during August 1-15.

Construction additionally moved from selling to buying. FPIs sold Rs 404 crore of construction stocks during August 1-15 but bought Rs 930 crore in the first half of September. Services continued to see buying, with FPI inflows rising to Rs 905 crore from Rs 590 crore.

Consumer services, that stated, saw buying moderate sharply to Rs 422 crore from Rs 3,398 crore during the first half of August. Telecommunication remained in the selling zone, although the pace eased. FPIs sold Rs 991 crore of telecom stocks in the first half of September, compared with Rs 3,322 crore during August 1-15.

Capital goods additionally saw selling ease substantially, from Rs 1,556 crore in August 1-15 to Rs 108 crore in September 1-15. Realty remained a net selling sector, with outflows of Rs 762 crore in the first half of September against Rs 1,014 crore in the first half of August.

Chemicals continued to attract foreign money, although buying moderated to Rs 228 crore from Rs 315 crore.

The sector-level shifts came as FPIs' overall equity positioning softened sharply in September. Equity assets under custody stood at Rs 67.46 lakh crore as of September 15, compared with Rs 70.38 lakh crore at the end of August, according to NSDL data.