Foreign investors made a significant turnaround and injected over Rs 1,500 crore into Indian equities in February, reversing the massive outflows seen in the preceding month, primarily due to robust corporate earnings and positive economic growth. Additionally, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued to be bullish on the debt markets as they put in over Rs 22,419 crore during the month under review, data with the depositories showed.
Looking ahead to March, the outlook for FPI flow appears promising, provided the current economic trajectory and corporate performance sustain their positive momentum, potentially continuing to attract foreign investment into Indian equities, Mayank Mehraa, smallcase manager and principal partner at Craving Alpha, said. According to the data, FPIs invested a net sum of Rs 1,539 crore in Indian equities in February. This came following a net withdrawal of Rs 25,743 crore in January.
The latest influx can be attributed to robust corporate earnings and positive economic growth trends observed during the December quarter. Despite perceived stretched valuations in the previous month, the compelling performance of companies justified their value, enticing FPIs to re-enter the market, Mehraa said. Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director - Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Research India, said that improvement in the global economic environment would have prompted FPIs to invest in high growth-oriented markets like India.
Globally, the January inflation numbers in the US were in line with expectations. Though the prices moved up in January, the annual increase in inflation was the lowest in nearly three years, raising expectation of an early rate cut by US Federal Reserve. On the domestic front too, Q3 GDP data showed strong growth, thus attracting foreign investors, he added. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said inflow came despite the US bond yields ruling high with the 10-year yield at around 4.25 per cent.
In terms of sectors, FPIs were big sellers in financials and FMCG in February. On the debt front, FPIs have been injecting money in the debt markets for the past few months driven by upcoming inclusion of Indian government bonds in the JP Morgan Index. They infused Rs 22,419 crore in February, Rs 19,836 crore in January, Rs 18,302 crore in December, Rs 14,860 crore in November, and Rs 6,381 crore in October.
JP Morgan Chase & Co. in September last year announced that it will add Indian government bonds to its benchmark emerging market index from June 2024. This landmark inclusion is anticipated to benefit India by attracting around USD 20-40 billion in the subsequent 18 to 24 months. This inflow is expected to make Indian bonds more accessible to foreign investors and potentially strengthen the rupee, thereby bolstering the economy. Overall, the total outflow for this year so far stood at Rs 24,205 crore in equities and an inflow of Rs 42,000 crore in debt market.
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