From The Economic Times · Nikhil Agarwal · · 1m 40s
11 Years, Zero Net FII Flow
Foreign investors erased 9 years of equity buying with $64 billion outflow.
In brief
Foreign investors erased 9 years of equity buying with $64 billion outflow. Foreign institutional investors sold $64 billion in Indian equities over two years, wiping out nine years of net buying. Originally reported by The Economic Times.
Foreign institutional investors
Foreign institutional investors have spent the past two years wiping out almost nine years of buying in Indian stocks.
Net equity flows since October 2015
Cumulative FII equity flows since October 2015 are virtually unchanged at minus $110 million.
Nine years of buying erased
Nearly $63.6 billion of selling since October 2024 erased the $63.5 billion accumulated during the preceding nine years.
2026 outflows
Foreign investors sold $32.8 billion in Indian equities so far this year following $18.9 billion of outflows in 2025.
Monthly withdrawals
March 2026 saw the biggest monthly withdrawal at $12.7 billion, followed by $6.5 billion in April and $5.2 billion in June.
Deteriorating investor conviction
Higher US Treasury yields, a stronger dollar, elevated oil prices and concerns over India’s relative returns drove the shift.
PL Capital analysis
Amnish Aggarwal of PL Capital said India was unlikely to attract significant foreign money with the US Treasury rate at 5.3%.
Sector selling
Financial services, autos and oil and gas faced the heaviest foreign selling in 2026 with $12.2 billion, $4.1 billion and $3.9 billion outflows.
Large-cap underperformance
Foreign investors focused selling on large-cap-heavy sectors, contributing to relative underperformance of large-cap equities.
Domestic absorption
Domestic institutions invested $8 billion while foreign investors sold $4.1 billion in September.
The bottom line
Foreign institutional investors sold $64 billion in Indian equities over two years, wiping out nine years of net buying.
