Overview
- Foreign portfolio investors have withdrawn about ₹1.68 trillion from Indian equities over the past four months, with March seeing the largest pullout linked to Middle East tensions and costlier oil.
- Selling has continued into April as the rupee weakened against the dollar, which reduces foreign investors’ gains once they convert proceeds back to their home currency.
- Despite broad outflows, overseas funds increased positions in roughly 120 companies, concentrating on midcaps and businesses tied to local demand such as lenders, housing finance firms, industrial suppliers, and exchanges.
- Market pressure has been visible this year with the Sensex down about 7.9%, the Nifty lower by 6.8%, and the total value of BSE-listed companies falling by roughly ₹10.1 trillion.
- A Kotak report pegs 2026 foreign outflows near $19 billion and finds domestic mutual funds have cushioned the selling with steady SIP inflows, though shrinking cash buffers could limit that support if global strains persist.