New Delhi: Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 13,121 crore ($1.46 billion) from Indian equities in the first four days of December, taking the total outflow for 2025 to Rs 1.56 lakh crore ($17.8 billion), data from NSDL showed on Thursday.
This sharp withdrawal follows a net outflow of Rs 3,765 crore in November, continuing the pressure on the markets.
These outflows come after a brief pause in October, when FPIs invested Rs 14,610 crore, breaking a three-month streak of massive withdrawals — Rs 23,885 crore in September, Rs 34,990 crore in August, and Rs 17,700 crore in July.
According to the data, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) withdrew a net amount of Rs 13,121 crore from Indian equities in this month during December 1-4.
The renewed selling this month is largely due to year-end portfolio repositioning by global investors, a common trend in December before the holiday season, Vaqarjaved Khan, Senior Fundamental Analyst at Angel One, said.
Adding to the pressure, the weak performance of the Indian rupee, one of the poorest-performing currencies globally in 2025, has further discouraged foreign investors, he added.
According to him, the ongoing delay in the India-US trade deal has also dampened global sentiment.
Despite the outflows, domestic markets showed some relief.
The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended their four-day losing streak on Thursday, supported by buying in technology and IT stocks.
At the same time, the Indian rupee broke its six-day decline, appreciating 22 paise to close at Rs 89.97 per US dollar, a move attributed to suspected central bank intervention and the unwinding of speculative dollar positions.
Looking ahead, markets are awaiting the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on interest rate decision, due on
Thursday, with the economists divided over the likely outcome of whether the central bank will hold or change interest rates, Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities, said.