FPIs shift focus back to Indian mkts

New Delhi Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have infused close to Rs8,400 crore in Indian equities so far this month primarily due to uncertainty in the global markets, economic concerns in China, and stability of the domestic economy.

With the global economic mood getting challenging due to slackening Chinese demand, any weakness in global equities could trigger wild gyrations in local shares and result in FPIs’ flow turning choppy going ahead, Srikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities, said. According to data with the depositories, FPIs put in a net sum of Rs8,394 crore in the Indian equities from August 1-18. However, in the first week of August, FPIs took a breather and pulled out over Rs 2,000 crore from equities on the back of Fitch downgrading the credit rating for the US. “The uncertainty in the global markets and economic concerns in China again played a role in FPIs shifting their focus back toward Indian markets, which have been more resilient and stable,” Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director - Manager Research, Morningstar India, said. Also, better-than-expected earnings for the June quarter lent positive support to the sentiments, he added. The last few weeks have been rare in Indian capital market history where both domestic and FPIs have bought into the Indian markets, Abhishek Banerjee, Founder and CEO, of Lotusdew Wealth & Investment Advisors, said.