March Fortnight Review: FPIs See Sharpest Selling Since Oct’24, DIIs Hit Record Buying, MFs Stay Strong Equity Buyers
FPIs Stay Selective on Capex Themes; Financials Bear the Brunt of March Fortnight Selling (1st–15th Mar 2026)
FPI Selling: Financial Services Sees Massive Unwind – On the sell side, Financial Services witnessed an overwhelming ₹31,831 Cr of outflows, making it by far the biggest drag during the fortnight and pointing to a sharp reduction in exposure to the market’s heaviest-weight sector. Selling was also pronounced in Automobile and Auto Components (₹4,807 Cr) and Telecommunication (₹3,856 Cr), followed by Construction (₹2,975 Cr), Oil & Gas (₹2,932 Cr), Healthcare (₹2,436 Cr), FMCG (₹2,403 Cr) and Realty (₹2,133 Cr). This suggests that overall flow trend remained decisively risk-off and heavily skewed toward large-scale selling in financials.
FPI Buying: Capex-Led Preference – On the buy side, FPIs remained selective, with Capital Goods leading inflows at ₹3,897 Cr, reflecting continued preference for the domestic capex theme. This was followed by Metals & Mining (₹876 Cr) and Power (₹602 Cr), while Consumer Services (₹531 Cr) and Chemicals (₹225 Cr) also attracted modest buying.
FPI Equity Selling Intensifies: FPIs remained aggressive sellers in 1st–15th Mar 2026, pulling out ₹52,704 Cr from equities—their sharpest fortnightly selling since Oct’24. The outflows were largely driven by the secondary market at ₹54,456 Cr, while primary market/IPO investments stood at ₹1,752 Cr, indicating heavy on-market selling despite selective participation in new issuances.
DII Buying Surges: Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained strong buyers in 1st–15th Mar 2026, with net equity purchases of ₹70,527 Cr, marking their highest fortnightly buying on record and topping the previous peak of ₹61,725 Cr seen in October 2024. The strong DII inflows helped absorb heavy foreign selling and supported market stability during the recent correction.
MF Equity Buying Stays Robust: Mutual Funds (MFs) remained net buyers in equities during 1st–15th Mar 2026, with inflows of ₹51,172 Cr, highlighting continued domestic support despite sharp market volatility. On a CY2026-to-date basis (1st Jan–15th Mar), MFs remain net buyers of ₹1,04,948 Cr in equities, indicating that mutual fund participation continues to provide a strong cushion to the market amid heavy foreign selling.
For a comprehensive understanding and more insights, please go through our detailed report.