Foreign investors pump Rs 14,167 crore in May, despite India Pak tensions

Foreign investors have injected Rs 14,167 so far this month, showing confidence in the country’s equity market despite the India Pakistan conflict. This inflow was primarily driven by positive global cues and India’s strong domestic economic fundamentals. This followed a net investment of Rs 4,223 crore in April, which marked the first inflow after a three-month period of withdrawals, according to data from the depositories.Prior to this, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) had pulled out major amounts, Rs 3,973 crore in March, Rs 34,574 crore in February, and a staggering Rs 78,027 crore in January. However, the trend reversed in April, and the momentum continued into May, with FPIs continuing to infuse capital.While this influx is a positive sign, it has only helped reduce the total outflow for 2025 to Rs 98,184 crore so far.Looking ahead, VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, predicted that global macroeconomic factors, such as the declining US dollar and the slowing economies of the US and China, along with India’s strong GDP growth and falling inflation and interest rates, will keep driving FPI inflows. However, debt inflows are expected to remain low, he noted.“The hallmark of FPI investment in recent days has been the sustained buying by them. They bought equity through the exchanges consecutively for 16 trading days ended May 8 for a cumulative amount of Rs 48,533 crore. They sold for Rs 3,798 crore on May 9 when the India-Pak conflict got escalated,” Vijayakumar added. Himanshu Srivastava, associate director at Morningstar Investment attributed the positive momentum to a combination of favourable global and domestic factors. A key factor in the renewed interest has been the improving prospects for a potential US-India trade agreement, alongside the weakening US dollar and strengthening Indian rupee, making Indian assets more attractive to global investors.Additionally, strong quarterly earnings from major Indian corporates have further boosted investor sentiment, Srivastava added.On the debt front, FPIs withdrew Rs 3,725 crore from the general debt limit but invested Rs 1,160 crore in the debt voluntary retention route during the period reviewed.