FPIs pull out 5,689 cr in July so far

New Delhi: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded Indian equities to the tune of over Rs 5,689 crore in July so far as they continued to adopt a cautious stance in view of various domestic and global factors.

During July 1-23, FPIs took out Rs 5,689.23 crore from equities, as per depositories data. During this period, they invested Rs 3,190.76 crore in the debt segment. So, net withdrawal during the period under review stood at Rs 2,498.47 crore.

"Rising valuations, surge in oil prices and firmness in US dollar would have made foreign investors wary of the near-term risks, which would have prompted them to stay on the sidelines," said Himanshu Srivastava, associate director - manager research, Morningstar India.

"FPI flows to India is expected to remain vulnerable to US Fed monetary policy and rising crude oil prices. Additionally, investors should note that the wide valuation gap between large-caps and small and midcaps has been filled. India remains an attractive investment destination from the long-term perspective. As the macro environment improves and domestic economy starts treading on the recovery path, FPI flows can be expected to rebound," said Shrikant Chouhan, executive vice president, equity technical research at Kotak Securities.

Harsh Jain, co-founder and COO at Groww, said that "in addition, with BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty hovering around the all-time high mark, foreign investors are being cautious in investing money."

VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: "They have been continuous sellers in the cash market for the last six trading days." With respect to other emerging markets, Arun Agarwal, deputy vice president, fundamental research at Kotak Securities, said that all key emerging markets and Asian markets have seen FPI outflows this month to date except Indonesia.