Record FPI buying in November sends sensex to near 9-month high

MUMBAI: After more than two years, foreign funds are back buying Indian stocks. In just eight trading sessions in Nov, on a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pumped in a little over Rs 73,200 crore into Indian equities, an all-time monthly high figure that surpassed the previous record of Rs 66,135 crore in Dec 2023, data from NSDL and BSE showed.On Wednesday, FPIs net bought stocks worth Rs 12,563 crore. This, combined with the recent crash in crude prices, down about 21% this month, helped Sensex gain another 1% (773 points) to close at 81,879, nearly a nine-month high level.So far in Nov, in eight trading sessions, the bellwether index has gained 10%, about 7,400 points, and investors' wealth has jumped Rs 36 lakh crore to its highest level of Rs 510.7 lakh crore, BSE data showed.

During the same period, Nifty has gained 9.7% to its Wednesday close at 25,255 points. Over the last two weeks, several factors have combined to work as tailwinds for indices, market players said.Investors’ wealth up by 4.3L crFor long, Indian companies were seen as laggards in the AI revolution that gripped some of the developed markets. As a result, several foreign fund managers took money off India to invest in AI-related stocks elsewhere.

The trend is now reversing, benefitting the Indian market, brokers and analysts said.

​Investors’ wealth up by 4.3L cr​

The recent US midterm poll results, seen as a rebuke to US President Donald Trump’s policies, raised prospects of a diplomatic solution to the war in West Asia, helping cool down crude prices and lower inflation expectations globally, including in India.As a result, the rupee strengthened and is up 1.3% this month to 93.7 to the dollar now.

Relatively good corporate results for the July-Sept quarter (Q2FY27) also helped improve investor sentiment significantly.Siddhartha Khemka, head of research - wealth management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said Indian equities are likely to retain their positive momentum, supported by an improving earnings trajectory, a sharp correction in crude prices and a strong resurgence in foreign investors’ flows.“Q2FY27 earnings are increasingly coming in ahead of expectations, strengthening confidence in corporate earnings recovery and providing fundamental support to the ongoing rally.”Cos’ M-cap at 510.7l crIn Wednesday’s session, investors’ wealth went up by about Rs 4.3 lakh crore with the aggregate market value of companies listed on the BSE at Rs 510.7 lakh crore, an all-time high figure, exchange data showed.