Investment by foreign institutional investors in the Indian capital markets has risen sharply over the past week, touching $55 million between January 1 and 15, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Up to January 10, the FIIs had invested $12.2 million. The FII presence has been steady even in the highly volatile markets over the past three trading days, although the BSE turnover details revealed that FIIs did book profits at higher levels by selling sharply on Thursday.
FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 13 crore (approximately $3.63 million) on the BSE on Thursday with purchases at Rs 30 crore (about $8.37 million) and sales at Rs 43 crore (about $12 million). The cumulative FII investment of $55 million till January 15 did not reflect the turnover details of the following day.
On Wednesday, the FIIs were net buyers on the BSE to the tune of Rs 19 crore (about $5.29 million) with purchases at Rs 39 crore (about $10.87 million) and sales at Rs 20 crore (about $5.57 million).
The cumulative net investment of $55 million by FIIs during the first fortnight includes investment in the secondary capital market through other exchanges like the NSE, in addition to the BSE.
On Friday, when the Sensex fluctuated wildly, the FIIs remained on the sidelines, trading sporadically. The trading volumes at the exchanges were lower than previous days and the number of trades were even lower.
According to marketmen, the FII activity at the market will depend largely on the fund allocations for the emerging markets. Senior Sebi officials said that while the allocations would provide a clearer picture, the outlook for the Indian markets remained "very positive" following the interaction of the market regulator and stock exchanges with global custodians at a recent meeting last week. There is a possibility of FII buying picking up this week if the uptrend continues.
