MFs pump in Rs 4,665 crore

Domestic mutual funds have made record net investments in equity markets in the first three weeks of May.

Till May 22, their net investments stood at Rs 4,665 crore "" the highest ever net monthly inflow ever since the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directed them to reveal details of their market buying in 2000.

In March 2006, the fund houses' net investment was at Rs 4,474 crore. Mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 2,013 crore in just three trading days, when the Sensex fell by as much as 1,736.04 points, or 14.2 per cent.

Their net investments on Thursday, when the Sensex fell 826 points, stood at Rs 762 crore. This was followed by Rs 848 crore on Friday (the Sensex down 453 points) and Rs 403 crore on Monday (the Sensex down 457 points).

On all these days, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the market. So far, in the first five months of the current calendar year, MFs made net purchases worth Rs 10,741.53 crore, compared with Rs 13,304.74 crore in the entire 2005.

During March-May, their net investments were Rs 12,114.24 crore. They were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,193 crore and Rs 179 crore in January and February, respectively.