Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to provide crucial support to Indian equity markets this week, offsetting sustained selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), as global sentiment improved after a reported US‑Iran ceasefire, exchange data showed.
FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 20,710 crore during the week, while DIIs emerged as net buyers with investments totalling Rs 21,602 crore, helping benchmark indices recover over 5 per cent over the period, the data showed.
Analysts attributed persistent FII selling to global and macro-economic concerns, including geopolitical tensions, elevated crude oil prices, rupee weakness, rising global bond yields and inflationary pressures.
However, FIIs posted a net inflow of Rs 672 crore on Friday, marking their first positive session since February 25, but strategists cautioned that sustained follow‑through would be needed to signal a durable reversal in foreign sentiment.
Month‑to‑date data also showed a similar trend, with FIIs withdrawing Rs 38,973 crore from Indian equities, while DIIs investing Rs 35,983 crore.
While domestic institutions played the larger role, retail investors also remained active. Systematic investment plan (SIP) contributions from retailer into mutual funds hit a record Rs 32,087 crore in March.
The easing of tensions after the US President Donald Trump announced a two‑week truce with Iran, helped push crude prices lower and lifted investor risk appetite, market participants said.
Foreign institutional flows are likely to be driven by developments in US‑Iran negotiations, its impact on crude prices and corporate earnings.
Indian equity benchmarks closed in green for the second consecutive week, amid huge short covering due to the US-Iran ceasefire.
Nifty gained 5.89 per cent during the week and added 1.16 per cent on the last trading day to reach 24,050. At close the Sensex was up 918 points or 1.20 percent at 77,550. It gained 5.77 per cent during the week.
Bank Nifty overperformed the broader market, closing at 55,912, up 1.99 per cent on Friday. It posted a steep weekly surge of 8.47 per cent.
