The rise of global trade tensions has caused foreign investors to withdraw a little over Rs 30,000 crore from the Indian equity market in the first two weeks of the month.
This followed stock withdrawals of Rs 78,027 crore in January and Rs 34,574 crore in February. Including this, data from the depositories indicated that the total outflow by FPIs in 2025 had reached Rs 1.42 lakh crore (USD 16.5 billion).
Data indicates that during this month (until March 13), Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) sold shares in Indian stocks for Rs 30,015 crore. This is also the fourteenth week in a row that net outflows have occurred.
Additionally, as it reduces profits for international investors, the depreciation of the Indian rupee has made this trend even worse. They withdrew Rs 325 crore from the debt voluntary retention route and deposited Rs 7,355 crore in the debt general limit.
In 2024, foreign investors dramatically reduced their investments in Indian shares, with net inflows of only Rs 427 crore, indicating a cautious posture generally.
This is in stark contrast to the remarkable net inflows of Rs 1.71 lakh crore in 2023, which were propelled by hope for India’s solid economic foundation. In contrast, significant rate hikes by international central banks in 2022 resulted in a net outflow of Rs 1.21 lakh billion.
