Business
FII outflows persist; selective buying seen in 20 stocks over four quarters
FII outflows persist; selective buying seen in 20 stocks over four quarters
About this update from Blackbuck Ltd
Even as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continue heavy selling in Indian equities amid elevated valuations, subdued earnings, geopolitical tensions, and better AI-led opportunities in other markets, they have not exited the market entirely. Latest shareholding data for the March quarter shows FIIs have been selectively increasing stakes in a set of companies, indicating a calibrated investment approach.FIIs have raised their holdings for four consecutive quarters in stocks such as BlackBuck, Vishal Mega Mart, South Indian Bank, MTAR Technologies, Home First Finance Company, Virtuoso Optoelectronics, Shaily Engineering Plastics, Abans Enterprises, GRM Overseas, Kalpataru, UPL, GE Vernova T&D India, Polycab India, Hitachi Energy India, Waaree Energies, Midwest Gold, Tamilnadu Petroproducts, GMR Airports, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.Among these, BlackBuck saw the sharpest increase, with FII stake rising by nearly 21 percentage points over the last four quarters to 32.5 percent in the March 2026 quarter from 11.6 percent a year ago. This was followed by Vishal Mega Mart and South Indian Bank, where FII holdings increased by around 15 percentage points and 12 percentage points to 22 percent and 24.2 percent from 7 percent and 12 percent, respectively.Other notable increases were seen in MTAR Technologies, Home First Finance Company, Virtuoso Optoelectronics, Shaily Engineering Plastics, and Abans Enterprises, where FII stakes rose by around 8 to 10 percentage points over the same period. Stocks such as GRM Overseas, Kalpataru, UPL, GE Vernova T&D India, Polycab India, Hitachi Energy India, and Waaree Energies saw increases of around 6 to 8 percentage points.This selective buying comes even as FIIs have sold nearly $18 billion worth of Indian equities so far in 2026, following outflows of over $18.9 billion in 2025, contributing to a correction in the markets. So far in 2026, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty have declined around 9.1 percent and 8 percent, respectively, while broader indices such as the BSE MidCap 150 and BSE SmallCap 250 have fallen about 1 percent and 0.5 percent.The selling pressure has been driven by a combination of factors, including elevated valuations, muted earnings, geopolitical tensions, and the diversion of global capital towards markets with stronger artificial intelligence-linked opport...