FIIs invest Rs 7,500 cr in Indian stock mkt in May so far

FII net investments had plunged to their lowest in 16-months in April at Rs 5,414 crore

Overseas investors are showing renewed interest in the Indian equity market, with investment of a whopping over Rs 7,500 crore (about $1.4 billion) this month so far amid political and economic worries.

With this, the total foreign investor investments in the country's equity market has reached Rs 68,561 crore ($12.7 billion) since the beginning of 2013.

During May 2-10, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were gross buyers of shares worth Rs 22,829 crore, while they sold equities amounting to Rs 15,306 crore, translating into a net inflow of Rs 7,525 crore ($1.4 billion), according to the data available with market regulator Sebi.

FII net investments had plunged to their lowest in 16- months in April. Indian stock market had attracted a net inflow of Rs 5,414 crore last month.

Market experts attributed the current inflow to global liquidity, which is flowing into Indian equities, and some softening of prices of crude and gold, helping the current account deficit.

However, the marketmen said that FII inflows in the Indian stock market slowed last month because of a slew of factors such as profit- booking, concerns over high current account deficit (CAD) and political uncertainty.

Apart from equity, FIIs have also poured in Rs 8,417 crore ($1.55 billion) in the debt market during the month taking the total investment to Rs 26,495 crore ($4.9 billion) in the segment so far this year.

FII, the main driver of Indian stock market, pushed the BSE's benchmark Sensex by three per cent in this month so far to settle at 20,122.32 points yesterday.

As on May 10, the number of registered FIIs in the country stood at 1,769 and total number of sub-accounts were at 6,397 during the same period.