FII investments in Indian stocks cross $3 billion in January-April 2007

Mumbai: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have invested a net $3.05 billion (over Rs13,500 crore) in Indian stocks so far in 2007 even as total FII investments in the country crossed $52 billion.

Of the total FII investments this year, more than half the amount came in the month of April alone after the overseas investors returned to the bourses with positive sentiments as Sensex regained its once-lost 14,000 level.

FIIs purchased stocks worth close to Rs46,400 crore and sold stocks worth about Rs39,500 crore in April 2007, taking their net investment to about Rs6,900 crore (about $1.56 billion), data available with the market regulator SEBI, showed.

Net FII investment for January-April 2007 is estimated to remain around $3 billion, as against about $3.3 billion in the same period of 2006, market sources said. However, net FII inflows in the first four months of 2007 was just over $1 billion, less than the amount invested in the same period of the previous year.

While it was raining dollars in the Indian stock market since the beginning of this year, the bourses had witnessed a massive herd-like flight of FIIs after a sharp fall in February this year.

Now, with the corporate results meeting or beating expectations, the sentiments have improved considerably, said a broker.

FIIs had purchased stocks worth a net of about $8 billion in the whole of 2006, as against a record high of $10.7 billion in 2005.