Foreign investors sell Indian stocks worth ₹30,000 crore in just 15 days of March
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold Indian equities worth ₹30,000 in just the first 15 days of March, PTI reported citing data with depositories. This comes amid an escalation of global tensions and uncertainties with regard to the tariff war initiated by US President Donald Trump.
₹1.42 lakh crore ($16.5 billion) in 2025 so far, (Bloomberg)” title=”The total outflow by FPIs has reached ₹1.42 lakh crore ($16.5 billion) in 2025 so far, (Bloomberg)” />Indian equities had witnessed outflows of ₹34,574 in February and ₹78,027 crore in January from FPIs. With this month’s outflows so far, the total outflow from FPIs has reached a massive ₹1.42 lakh crore ($16.5 billion) so far in 2025, data with depositories showed.
With the last week’s outflows, Indian equities have witnessed 14 consecutive weeks of net outflows.
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Both global and domestic factors are behind the outflows, according to experts. Trump’s tariff wars have also induced recession fears in the US, which have reduced global risk appetite and consequently prompted FPIs to be cautious with their investments in emerging markets like India, Morningstar Investment Associate Director – Manager Research Himanshu Srivastava told PTI.
Another key factor driving FPI outflows has been elevated US bond yields and a strong dollar, which have made American assets more appealing.
Also, depreciation of the Indian rupee has further exacerbated this trend, as it erodes returns for foreign investors.
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Moreover, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, highlighted that the FPI outflows from India have been mainly going into Chinese stocks that have been outperforming other markets in 2025.
“The recent decline in the dollar index will limit the fund flows to the US. However, the heightened uncertainty triggered by the trade war between the US and other nations is likely to push more money into safe asset classes like gold and dollar,” he added.
On the other hand, they invested ₹7,355 crore in debt general limit and withdrew ₹325 crore from debt voluntary retention route.
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The overall trend indicates a cautious approach by foreign investors, who scaled back investments in Indian equities significantly in 2024, with net inflows of just ₹427 crore.
This contrasts sharply with the extraordinary ₹1.71 lakh crore net inflows in 2023, driven by optimism over India’s strong economic fundamentals. In comparison, 2022 saw a net outflow of ₹1.21 lakh crore amid aggressive rate hikes by global central banks.
