FPIs Pump Nearly ₹15,000 Crore into Indian Equities in Biggest Single-Day Buying Wave

Foreign institutional investors stormed back into Dalal Street on Thursday. Overseas funds absorbed nearly ₹15,000 crore ($1.6 billion) in Indian equities in a single session—their heaviest single-day net purchase since September 20, 2024, when net inflows reached ₹15,181 crore, according to provisional stock exchange data.

Local funds moved in the opposite direction. Domestic institutional investors offloaded shares worth ₹10,445 crore during the session, locking in gains after anchoring the market throughout months of offshore liquidations. Even with Thursday's profit-taking, domestic institutions have deployed approximately ₹6.7 lakh crore ($71 billion) into Indian equities this year, providing an unprecedented liquidity buffer against foreign exits.

Yet the foreign tide has turned decisively. Thursday's shopping spree lifted cumulative offshore purchases to nearly $6 billion across the past 14 trading sessions. That cash infusion wipes out the bulk of autumn withdrawals, after foreign investors pulled $4.1 billion in September and another $2.2 billion in October. Overseas desks turned net sellers in just three of the last 14 sessions, shedding a modest $230 million on those down days. The aggressive deployment narrows year-to-date foreign net selling to under $27 billion, down from an October peak of roughly $33 billion.

Blue-Chip Heavyweights Lead Index Rebound

Blue-chip balance sheets absorbed the lion's share of incoming capital. The benchmark Nifty 50 jumped more than 8% over six consecutive winning sessions, leaving Dalal Street barely 5% below its record peak after a 10% rebound from recent troughs. Frontline stocks trounced broader indices: mid-caps added 5.8%, while small-caps trailed with a 2.7% gain. Not a single Nifty 50 component logged a loss over the six-day stretch.

Portfolio managers pointed to shifting global allocation dynamics as liquidity returned to emerging Asian markets. "We are seeing signs of FII flows returning to emerging markets, with Chinese stocks also witnessing a sharp rally," said Manishi Raychaudhuri, Chief Executive Officer of Emmer Capital Partners. "Large frontline stocks are likely to be the focus of foreign institutional investors." Raychaudhuri noted that Reliance Industries offers significant intrinsic value, with its refining vertical positioned to gain from softer international crude oil benchmarks.

The tidal wave of capital spilled directly into foreign exchange desks. The Indian rupee climbed for a fifth straight session to close at ₹94.48 against the US dollar, its strongest finish in 15 days. With foreign institutional flows accelerating and blue chips leading the charge, trading desks are watching whether sustained overseas liquidity can push the benchmark index past its record high before year-end.