FIIs invest $2.3 bn in Indian equities so far this month

Mumbai - Foreign investors continued to be bullish on Indian equities during October and have infused more than Rs 12,000 crore so far this month.

From October 1-25, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were gross buyers of shares worth Rs 47,443 crore. They sold equities amounting to Rs 35,437 crore -- translating into net inflow of Rs 12,006 crore (USD 2.3 billion) -- as per data available with capital market regulator Sebi.

This takes the FII investments in India's equity market to Rs 94,337 crore (USD 18.1 billion) this year.

Market experts said FIIs continued with the positive bias towards Indian equities on account of the reform initiatives taken by the government that have strengthened chances of better economic growth and improved market sentiment.

FII inflows will continue in the coming months as the country is riding on positive news flows, they said, adding that the lack of investment options make India an attractive destination.

In the last three months, overseas investors have poured in more than Rs 40,000 crore in the domestic stock market including Rs 19,261 crore in September.

"The inflows into domestic equities continued on the government's reform measures and I hope it will continue in the coming months as well," Wellindia Vice President Research Vivek Negi said.

Another analyst Kishor Ostwal Head at CNI Research said, "Steps taken by the government are being seen as market friendly by investors and in my view FIIs will continue to react positively on the domestic equity market."

This month, apart from pouring funds in equities, FIIs also infused Rs 2,245 crore in the debt market.

Overall, however, the BSE 30-stock index, Sensex, has slipped by about 137 points or 0.7 percent so far this month to settle at 18,625.34 points on Friday.

As on October 25, the number of registered FIIs in the country stood at 1,753 and total number of sub-accounts were at 6,347.