FIIs pump nearly Rs6,800 crore into Indian stocks in April

Foreign investors have pumped in about Rs6,783 crore ($1.3 billion) in the domestic stock market so far this month on the back of continued investments by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

This follows record inflows of foreign funds in the 2013-14 financial year.

During FY'14, FIIs were net buyers of Rs73,235 crore in the stock market - the fourth highest in terms of buying activity. The year also saw overall inflows of Rs1,40,000 crore.

Investors, hoping to see a reform-oriented government after the general elections, have been pumping money into equities since January 2014, with total investment of about Rs28,979 crore ($4.78 billion) over the period.

FIIs bought shares worth Rs49,775 crore and sold stocks to the tune of Rs42,992 crore in the week ended 17 April, resulting in a net inflow of Rs6,783 crore ($1.3 billion), data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) showed.

Foreign investors, however, pulled out Rs4,282 crore from the debt market during the period.

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 243 points, or 1.08 per cent, so far this month driven by FIIs investments in the equity markets.

FII investment in Indian stocks steadily rose to Rs20,077 crore in March, from Rs1,404 crore in February and Rs714 crore in January.

As of 17 April, there were 1,715 registered FIIs in the country and 6,391 sub-accounts.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investment into Indian equities and debt through the participatory note (P-note) saw a sharp rise in March.

The total value of P-note investments stood at Rs2,07,000 crore in March, up 20 per cent from Rs1,73,000 crore in February, SEBI data showed.

In March, the share of investment through P-notes, typically used by global hedge funds, to the total assets of FIIs stood at 13 per cent, the highest in three months.

The value of investments through P-notes would increase further in the run-up to the election results in May, say market analysts.