Mutuals book profits in September

 Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) seem to be fascinated by Indian equities of late. However, domestic mutual funds are playing safe.

 According to data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), this month (up to September 9), mutual funds have been net sellers to the tune of Rs 318 crore.

 In fact, between April 2003 and September, mutual funds have sold equities worth Rs 148 crore. Gross purchases during the month touched Rs 880 crore, while sales hit Rs 1,198 crore.

 However, many large fund houses such as Pru-ICICI Mutual Fund and UTI Mutual Fund insist that their purchases have been more than sales.

 Industry sources said some large mutual funds could be booking profits in order to distribute dividends.

 Out of the seven trading days so far this month, funds have been net sellers on as many as five days.

 The two exceptions were September 1, when MFs purchased equities worth a meagre Rs 1 crore, and September 3, when their purchases touched Rs 46 crore.

 The heaviest sales took place on September 9, when mutual funds were net sellers to the tune of Rs 117 crore.

 A fund manager at UTI MF said: