FPIs remain buyers for fourth consecutive month; infuse Rs 9,031 crore in May

Overseas investors pumped in a net amount of Rs 9,031 crore into the Indian capital markets in May on expectations of more business-friendly measures following the BJP's landslide victory in the general elections.

Interestingly, foreign investors were net sellers for the first three weeks of May, but the tide turned just ahead of the announcement of election results.

According to the latest depositories data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) infused a net sum of Rs 7,919.73 crore into equities and Rs 1,111.42 crore in the debt market during May 2-31, taking the cumulative net investment to Rs 9,031.15 crore.

Prior to this, they had invested a net Rs 16,093 crore in April, Rs 45,981 crore in March and Rs 11,182 crore in February in the capital markets (both equity and debt).

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won over 300 seats on its own out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha elections -- the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984.

The victory of the Narendra Modi-led coalition will ensure continuation in reform measures initiated during the NDA's first term, experts said.

During May 2-17, foreign investors pulled out a net Rs 6,399 crore from the markets amid pre-election uncertainty.

However, "FPIs started to come back into Indian equities anticipating a return of NDA-led government and the flows intensified when their expectation became reality after the election results were announced on May 23, 2019," said Himanshu Srivastava, senior research analyst, manager research at Morningstar.

"FPI inflows saw heightened volatility ahead of election results and settled after there was evidence of a clear mandate. From here on, while there may be residual inflows awarding certainty in governance, budget-related and policy-related issues besides earnings would likely be the primary focus for fresh investments," said Vidya Bala, Head - Mutual Funds Research at FundsIndia.

Echoing the views, Srivastava said, "Now with elections behind, the focus would gradually shift towards government's policies on economic reforms, its impact on economic growth and corporate earnings, besides global factors."