
IT weeps & FMCG moans, but $3.5 billion FII selloff shouldn't worry Indian investors
Like the earlier month, the fortnight (ending March 15) sell-off affected nearly all sectors in the market, with the exception of metals. Metal stocks stood out as they attracted investments worth Rs 1,100 crore, making them the only sector to buck the trend. This was not the case in the preceding period.
The worst-hit sectors of FII wrath were IT, FMCG, Auto, Financial, and Healthcare, as FIIs withdrew nearly Rs 19,000 crore ($2.2 billion) from stocks in these areas. The total outflows from Indian equities amounted to Rs 30,015 crore ($3.5 billion) in this period.
IT stocks have seen the most amount of foreign capital outflows at Rs 6,934 crore, the ripple effect of which has been the stock performance of these tech companies. The Nifty IT index, for instance, is down as much as 10% in the last one month.
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The sell-off in tech stocks can be attributed to the high valuations in the sector, which are hovering at an average of 24 times one-year forward earnings. The fears of a US recession also weighed on the sentiments and the stocks may remain volatile until macroeconomic conditions stabilize.
A return in the offing?
In the last six months, the foreign outflows, to the tune of Rs 3.4 lakh crore ($28 billion), were quite unprecedented in recent history. The sell-off was unabated despite domestic policy measures such as the government's cut to income tax and the Reserve Bank's rate cuts and actions to boost liquidity.
A rally in the Chinese stocks, driven by bets on artificial intelligence