FIIs Exit Consumer, Finance And Tech Stocks; Bet On Into Telecom, Oil And Gas | Markets News

FII Outflows

Foreign investors continued to reshuffle their portfolios on a sector-by-sector basis in the second half of November, extending selling in consumer, financial and information technology stocks, while stepping up allocations to telecom, oil & gas and capital goods.

FMCG emerged as the worst hit among consumer-facing segments. FIIs offloaded Rs 2,722 crore worth of FMCG shares in the latter half of November, after selling over Rs 2,040 crore in the first half. Auto stocks also remained under pressure, with Rs 1,257 crore worth of selling in the second half following Rs 385 crore of outflows earlier in the month.

Financial stocks continued to witness sustained selling, with FIIs selling Rs 1,137 crore in the second half after exiting more than Rs 2,041 crore in the first half. The IT sector also stayed under heavy pressure, recording outflows of Rs 921 crore in the latter half, after a much sharper selloff of Rs 4,873 crore in the first half of November.

On the buying front, telecom stocks attracted the strongest FII interest. Foreign investors bought Rs 4,913 crore worth of telecom shares in the second half, adding to the hefty Rs 9,413 crore invested in the first half. Oil & gas stocks also saw strong inflows of Rs 4,177 crore, following investments of Rs 2,992 crore earlier in the month. Capital goods recorded net inflows of Rs 1,707 crore in the second half, after Rs 788 crore of buying in the first half.

A few sectors saw a sharp reversal in trend. Metals & mining witnessed net selling of Rs 1,045 crore in the second half after FIIs were net buyers of Rs 236 crore in the first half. In contrast, consumer durables and healthcare saw renewed interest, with FIIs buying Rs 1,273 crore and Rs 743 crore respectively, reversing significant selling of Rs 1,379 crore and Rs 2,526 crore in the first half.