The week ended with heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). He sold domestic shares worth Rs 17,140 crore in the five sessions ending on Friday. The outflow of foreign investment has increased to Rs 43,967 crore so far in April, due to which foreign investors have withdrawn Rs 1,75,089 crore from the stock market so far in 2026. On Friday, FIIs sold domestic shares worth Rs 8,827.87 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers worth Rs 4,700.71 crore.
Due to this heavy selling, a sharp decline was recorded in domestic major indices. The biggest loss was suffered by the IT sector, which fell by more than 5 percent at the index level. Shares of pharma, health and energy sectors were also among those who suffered heavy losses. Where the 50-share Nifty fell 275.10 points or 1.14 percent and closed at 23,897.95. Sensex fell 999.79 points or 1.29% and settled at 76,664.21.
Bajaj Broking said in a note that FIIs continue to sell in the Indian stock market. This trend of month-on-month selling continues for the 10th consecutive month, as geopolitical developments dominate the flow of institutional investment. According to a brokerage note, going forward institutional investment activity is expected to be mainly influenced by global news, with developments related to US-Iran talks being especially closely watched. The note further said that the US FOMC and Bank of Japan will take decisions on interest rates next week, after which the comments of the central banks will also come out. All this will also affect the global stock market and institutional investment activities.
The rate-setting committee of the US Federal Reserve will meet on April 28 and 29, in which monetary policy steps will be discussed in view of the ongoing war between the US and Iran. The results of the policy will be declared on Wednesday, April 29. Despite improving global cues, FIIs remain net sellers in Indian markets. More than $45 billion has been withdrawn since September 2024, and $5 billion has been sold in April 2026 alone. Meanwhile, investment has moved towards markets like Korea and Taiwan.
N. ArunaGiri, CEO of TrustLine Holdings, said the gap reflects India's declining appeal in global allocation strategies as its weighting in MSCI has fallen sharply. ArunaGiri explained that foreign investors are primarily large-cap, top-down investors and their participation depends on clear sectoral leadership—which does not exist right now, as the IT sector is downgraded and private banks are growing slowly.
The war-induced selloff in March proved to be the worst month of the year, with huge outflows of Rs 1,17,775 crore. Foreign investors became net buyers in February, and have so far bought shares worth Rs 22,615 crore in the domestic markets. In January, he had sold shares worth Rs 35,962 crore. In 2025, FIIs' buying trends remained erratic, but the overall trend was bearish. They pulled out Rs 1,66,286 crore from Indian markets as trade deal delays and high valuations hit investor morale.
