FII stake in Indian equities dips to a 12-year low

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have been rapidly exiting Indian markets, and this high-speed exodus does not look like it will stop anytime soon. In October 2024, FIIs withdrew Rs 1,14,445.89 crores from Indian markets. Yesterday, FIIs withdrew $770.67 million from the markets, with equity outflows of $440.86 million and debt outflows standing at $327.44 million across various categories. Per NSDL data, hybrid outflows amounted to $2.31 million.

While this may sound dissuading at first, a recent SBI report underlined that FIIs still hold a massive $ 18.241 billion in Indian markets. So far, FY25 has seen FII inflows worth $ 8.924 billion.

However, the situation may quickly turn alarming as well, given that FII holdings in Indian equities have already come down to a 12-year low. Says Anirudh Garg, Partner and Fund Manager at Invasset PMS, "The current valuation of Indian stocks, trading at around 24 times expected earnings, appears high compared to Chinese stocks, which are at approximately 10 times. Economic concerns, including weak corporate earnings and declining consumer demand, further exacerbate this situation. Additionally, renewed fears of inflation and potential monetary tightening by central banks have led FIIs to withdraw from the Indian market."

In the meantime, DIIs (domestic institutional investors) are stepping in big time. During October 2024, DIIs infused Rs 1,07,254.68 crore in Indian markets. In November so far, DIIs have been keeping the fund momentum going, infusing Rs 12,265.74 crore in India, while FIIs have offloaded Rs 16,445.49 crore this month.

But despite this strong uptick, SBI's recent report suggests that consumer confidence in India remains below 100, signaling muted positivity and optimism in the economy. While household consumption is gradually recovering, it grew at 4% last year, much below the 7% levels recorded pre-pandemic.

FII share in NSE-listed companies takes a dip, DII stake rise

FIIs share in NSE-listed companies stood at 15.98% in October, with assets under their custody in the equity segment coming to Rs 71.08 lakh crore last month. In September, this stood at Rs 77.96 crore. Experts suggest that this is likely to continue for some time to come.

Mutual funds, on the other hand, saw their share in NSE-listed companies hit a record high of 9.58%, as opposed to their 9.32% stake in September 2024.

FIIs turned net sellers in the debt segment as well in October, dumping $771 million in Indian markets. This comes after 2 consecutive months of healthy inflows in this segment in August and September 2024, where the figures stood at $2,806 million and $2,295 million, respectively.