New Delhi: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in Indian equities during the week ended August 21, offloading shares worth ₹1,602 crore. The selling came after three consecutive weeks of FII buying and added to the cautious mood in domestic markets. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) maintained strong buying support, investing ₹17,320 crore across all five trading sessions.
FII activity remained uneven during the week. Foreign investors began with selling, shifted to buying over the following two sessions and returned to selling during the final two trading days. Despite the latest outflow, FIIs remained net buyers over the past month, with cumulative purchases of ₹1,282 crore. In August so far, their net investment stood at ₹2,510 crore, while DIIs had invested ₹34,370 crore.
The broader market remained under pressure as elevated crude oil prices and continuing geopolitical tensions weighed on investor sentiment. Crude prices stayed above $92 a barrel, increasing concerns over inflation and corporate costs, while uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran situation encouraged investors to adopt a cautious approach. The Nifty touched an intra-week low of 24,026 before recovering during the final two sessions.
The benchmark Nifty ultimately closed at 24,252, registering a 0.5 per cent weekly decline and extending its corrective trend for a second straight week. However, broader market performance was comparatively resilient, with the Nifty Midcap 100 ending largely unchanged and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining more than 1 per cent after touching a fresh record high. Market participants are expected to closely track crude prices, global developments and foreign investor flows in the coming sessions.