FPIs pick out FMCG from trough, telecom & financials

Mumbai: Battered shares of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies received the highest flows from foreign investors across sectors in the first half of March as they saw value in these stocks after their underperformance in recent years.

The FMCG sector received the highest inflows of ₹11,180 crore after witnessing selling worth ₹4,472 crore last month. In 2023, shares in the sector received ₹2,916 crore.

In the period between March 1 and 15, overseas investors were buyers to the tune of ₹44,974 crore across 15 sectors, as per data from the National Securities Depository (NSDL).

Apart from FMCG, foreign investors were buyers in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.

The telecommunication and financial services sectors saw a shift in sentiment from foreign investors, as they turned net buyers worth ₹6,648 crore in the former and ₹5,365 crore in the latter after selling ₹3,933 crore and ₹9,977 crore in February in that order.Services, consumer services, and realty sectors continued to witness inflows worth over ₹4,000 crore. Foreign investors bought shares worth ₹3,697 crore in the automobile sector while capital goods received foreign inflows worth ₹2,838 crore in the first half of the month. In 2023, the two sectors received robust inflows worth ₹29,389 crore and ₹43,936 crore respectively.Overseas investors sold shares worth ₹4,266 crore in the first half of March across 8 sectors, where healthcare observed the highest outflows.Foreign investors offloaded shares worth ₹1,577 in the healthcare sector after purchases worth ₹5,199 crore in February, followed by oil & gas and information technology sectors which witnessed outflows worth over ₹1,000 crore. The IT sector had received inflows worth ₹2,197 crore in February after overseas investors sold shares worth ₹7,066 crore in calendar 2023.