In 2025, money flowed into telecoms, oil, metals, cyclical stocks leaving behind IT, consumer and finance
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In a dramatic shift of strategy, foreign investors rewrote the rules for the Indian market in 2025. While they pulled a massive ₹1.67 trillion out of equities overall, this headline number tells only half the story.
The real action was a stark and surprising split: a select group of industrial and commodity sectors basked in fresh inflows, even as longtime favourites like technology and consumer goods were unceremoniously dumped. Also read Pulse of the Street: A five-day rout makes market jittery Telecom stood out as the strongest foreign investor favourite for a third straight year, drawing uninterrupted inflows despite broad market volatility. Mint analysis of CMIE data shows overseas investments into the sector rose from ₹5,529 crore in 2023 to ₹23,737 crore in 2024, before jumping further to ₹48,222 crore in 2025.
This steady appetite came even as most other sectors were hit by heavy foreign selling. Oil & gas, which had witnessed sharp outflows of ₹22,813 crore in 2023 and ₹56,340 crore in 2024, staged a clear turnaround with ₹8,431 crore in inflows in 2025. Metals, mining and chemicals typically influenced by global demand cycles—also moved back into positive territory, attracting ₹4,661 crore and ₹6,017 crore, respectively, marking their strongest foreign buying in three years.
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