FIIs in March Rs. 1.14 lakh crore worth of Indian equity sales; 2026 Outflow Balloons Rs. 1.27 lakh crore

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in March invested Rs. 1,13,810 crore sold domestic equities, extending their selling trend amid the Iran-Israel war. So far this year, they have collected Rs. Indian stocks worth 1,27,157 crores have been offloaded.

This has turned out to be the worst month ever, as foreign investors are pulling out of their Indian investments amid the Iran-Israel war.

Commenting on current trends, Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said weakness in global equity markets following the war in West Asia, continued depreciation of the rupee, fears of a decline in remittances from the Gulf region and higher crude earnings and India’s higher earnings and concerns about the impact on crude earnings. Continued sales by FPIs.

“It is important to understand that FPIs were also sellers in other emerging markets such as Taiwan and South Korea. There has been a risk-off trend in equity markets globally since the outbreak of war in West Asia. Poor returns from India compared to other developed and emerging markets in the last eighteen months is the main reason for India’s FPI selling strategy. To change, hostilities in West Asia should end and crude prices should come down,” Vijayakumar said.

On Friday, FIIs invested Rs. 4,367.30 crores of local shares while DII sold Rs. 3,566.15 crore were net buyers.

Indian frontline indices ended their two-session rally amid sharp cuts as the failure of Iran-US talks dampened market sentiment. Elevated energy prices and a faltering rupee have added to the woes for domestic investors. Amid high volatility, markets were mainly dragged by financials, auto and consumer stocks. The Nifty fell 486.85 points or 2.09% to settle at 22,819.60 while the BSE Sensex shed 1,690.23 points or 2.25% to close at 73,583.22.

FII in 2026

Foreign investors turned out to be net buyers in February and domestic markets have so far added Rs. 22,615 crore shares were bought. In January, they raised Rs. 35,962 crore worth of shares were sold.

In 2025, the trend of FII buying remained ambiguous, but the overall trend was bearish. They have taken Rs. 1,66,286 crore as trade deals weighed on delay and premium valuation sentiment.

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