Foreign portfolio investors sold ₹47,955 crore of Indian shares in the first half of October, more than double the previous fortnight. Information technology was the exception, drawing ₹2,599 crore in fresh inflows.
Foreign Selling Accelerates to ₹47,955 Crore
Overseas investors stepped up their selling of Indian equities in the first fortnight of October 2026. According to National Securities Depository data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth ₹47,955 crore between October 1 and October 15. That is more than twice the ₹21,745 crore they pulled out in the second half of September.
It was the third consecutive fortnight of FPI equity selling, according to a fortnightly market review that also drew on depository data. The selling was broad: FPIs were net sellers in 19 sectors, and only five sectors attracted fresh money.
One cushioning detail comes from currency. In dollar terms, the foreign portfolio actually grew over the period, supported by a firmer rupee, Business Standard reported. Rupee outflows and dollar-value changes can therefore point in different directions.
Which Sectors Lost and Which Gained
The pressure fell hardest on financial services. IT went the other way.
| Sector | FPI Flow, Oct 1 to Oct 15 |
| Financial services | Outflow of ₹8,634 crore (largest of any sector) |
| Information technology | Inflow of ₹2,599 crore (largest of any sector) |
Several sectors also moved from net inflows in the second half of September to net outflows in October so far. At the same time, FPIs increased purchases of chemicals, IT, and media, entertainment and publication stocks compared with the previous fortnight. That mix suggests selective buying inside a market that foreign investors were otherwise reducing.
IT Stocks Outperform the Benchmark
The inflows into technology showed up in prices. The Nifty IT index rose 10.88% in the first half of October, according to a note from SBI Securities, while the benchmark Nifty gained 1.67% over the same period. The IT index therefore beat the broader market by more than nine percentage points in the fortnight.
This is a sharp contrast with the picture for the rest of the market. Foreign investors sold across most sectors, yet the one sector they bought most heavily also outperformed the benchmark index by a wide margin. Readers should note that the figures describe what happened between October 1 and October 15 and are not a forecast of what comes next.
Domestic Institutions Absorb the Selling
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought ₹51,829 crore of equities during the same fortnight. That was the highest fortnightly buying in the past four months, and it more than offset the ₹47,955 crore that FPIs sold.
This matters because domestic buying cushions the market when foreign money leaves. When DIIs buy more than FPIs sell, the net flow into equities stays positive even in a period of heavy foreign selling.
Debt flows told a different story. FPIs put ₹2,067 crore into debt during the fortnight, which ended four consecutive fortnights of selling in that segment. The reversal was driven mainly by inflows into the debt-general category, a tentative sign of improving foreign appetite for Indian fixed income.
How the Market Looked at the Fortnight’s End
The Nifty closed at 22,687.65 on Thursday, October 22, down 0.54%, while the Sensex fell 460.30 points, or 0.62%, to 73,249.39. Brent crude climbing above $112 a barrel was cited as a pressure point that day, so the equity market faced oil-related concerns on top of the foreign selling.
The key points from the October 1 to October 15 data are:
- FPI equity selling: ₹47,955 crore, the third straight selling fortnight
- Previous fortnight: ₹21,745 crore of selling in the second half of September
- Largest sector outflow: financial services at ₹8,634 crore
- Largest sector inflow: information technology at ₹2,599 crore
- DII buying: ₹51,829 crore, the highest fortnightly figure in four months
- Debt flows: inflows of ₹2,067 crore after four fortnights of selling
Also Read: Sebi Eases Margin Rules for Cash Market Trades Backed by Early Pay-In of Securities
What These Flow Numbers Do and Do Not Show
Fortnightly depository data captures what foreign investors bought and sold, but it does not explain why. The data alone cannot separate the possible drivers. A single fortnight also cannot establish a trend, even though this one extends a three-fortnight run of selling.
Investors tracking these numbers can watch whether the second half of October shows a continuation, a slowdown or a reversal of the pattern. The next fortnightly data release from the depository will show whether technology remains the one sector drawing sustained foreign money, and whether domestic institutions keep absorbing the selling at the pace seen so far.
