Foreign portfolio investors withdraw Rs 4,800 crore from Indian equities amid global uncertainty

Foreign portfolio inventors, this week, reversed May’s overall net inflows, withdrawing Rs 4,84.32 crore between May 19 and May 23. The FPIs turned net sellers in Indian equities, as the total investment now stands at Rs 13, 835 crore, down from the Rs 18,620 crore registered over the previous week, the data from National Securities Depository Ltd reported, quoted by ANI.The data shows that foreign investors pulled out almost Rs 4,800 crore worth of investments just in five trading sessions.This withdrawal came despite a strong start to the week, with positive inflows reported on Monday and Tuesday. The bulk of this sharp sell-off came on Wednesday, May 21, when FPIs dumped over Rs 10,000 crore worth of shares in a single trading session. With this week’s selling spree, foreign investors have now pulled out a net Rs 98,516 crore from Indian equities so far in 2025, indicating that foreign investors continue to remain cautious amid the ongoing global uncertainty.However, market experts say the withdrawals are probably due to external factors rather than any fundamental weakness in Indian markets.One of the major reasons could be the persisting turmoil in the global bond markets.“This kind of up-and-down flow points to the turmoil in global bond markets, which is impacting leveraged funds or carry trade funds. These investors are pulling out profits from Indian markets to meet liquidity needs elsewhere,” said Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, speaking to ANI.He further added that another possibility could be that FPIs are playing the options market, “moving option premiums by trading the underlying shares in the cash segment. That could explain why index heavyweights were sold on certain days and why sharp reversals followed.”Analysts described the recent trend as a “hot money” movement, rapid and speculative investments, rather than an indication of India’s economic fundamentals weakening.Despite the recent volatility, April saw a net FPI inflow of Rs 4,223 crore, hinting at a major shift in sentiment. Over the previous months, FPIs had withdrawn Rs 3,973 crore in March, Rs 78,027 crore in January, and Rs 34,574 crore in February.