At `1.4L cr outflow, market sees worst sell-off by FPIs in FY22

New Delhi: Foreign portfolio investors dumped Indian shares worth record Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the financial year 2021-22, after pumping in whopping Rs 2.7 lakh crore in the preceding fiscal, mainly on account of sharp surge in coronavirus cases, concerns over the risk to economic recovery and global turmoil triggered by Russia-Ukraine war.

This was the worst ever exodus by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) from domestic equity market. They withdrew Rs 88 crore in 2018-19, Rs 14,171 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 47,706 crore in 2008-09, data with depositories showed.

Moreover, experts believe that flows from FPIs are expected to remain volatile in the near term given the headwinds in terms of elevated crude prices and inflation.

From April 2021 to March 2022, FPIs were net sellers in Indian equities to the tune of Rs 1.4 lakh crore. They have withdrawn nine of the 12 months in the just concluded financial year. They have been selling domestic equities since October 2021.

Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director - Manager Research, Morningstar India, said that multiple factors have led to the FPIs outflow in the preceding fiscal, which included the sharp surge in coronavirus cases during April-May 2021, the peak period of the second wave of the Covid pandemic.