Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have reduced their exposure to India’s biggest listed companies significantly during the January-March period, bringing the foreign institutional ownership in Indian companies to a 25-quarter or six-year low.
At March-end, foreign institutional ownership for 308 firms in the BSE 500 index, which contribute at least 90% of India’s market capitalization, slumped to 12.3%.
The sell-off by FPIs, somewhat on slow burn due to steep valuations and poor macros, intensified following the covid-19 outbreak, slashing stakes more sharply in FMCG and pharma stocks.
This is in contrast to 14.16% stake held by FIIs in these companies in March quarter last year and 13.36% in December, according to data provided by