FII sell-off: Foreign investors withdraw record ₹1.14 lakh crore in March on West Asia conflict

With one trading session remaining in the month, the outflows could extend further. The previous record for the highest monthly exodus stood at ₹94,017 crore in October 2024.

With the latest withdrawals, total foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) outflow has reached ₹1.27 lakh crore so far in 2026, according to NSDL data.

As per the data, FPIs have remained persistent sellers throughout March, offloading equities worth ₹1,13,380 crore in the cash market till March 27.

The sharp sell-off follows a strong rebound in February, when foreign FPIs pumped in ₹22,615 crore, the highest monthly inflow in 17 months.

Market participants attributed the sustained selling pressure to global macroeconomic headwinds and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

As per a PTI report, quoting Himanshu Srivastava, Principal - Manager Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, the sell-off has been driven by a combination of elevated US bond yields and tightening global liquidity, which have improved the relative attractiveness of developed market fixed income.

While Indian market valuations have corrected alongside the recent market decline, they continue to remain relatively elevated compared to several emerging market peers, which may still be prompting selective profit booking and reallocation, he added.

Moreover, FPIs were sellers in other emerging markets, too, like Taiwan and South Korea. There is a risk-off trend in equity markets globally after the war broke out in West Asia.

On Friday, the SENSEX plunged 1,690 points or 2.25% at 73,583, and the NIFTY50 tanked 2.09% at 22,819, closing lower for the fifth week straight.

Shriram Finance dragged the NIFTY50 index, slipping 5.54%. It was followed by Tata Motors PV (-4.92%), Reliance Industries (-4.61%), InterGlobe Aviation (-4.48%), and Eternal (-3.91%), which were also among the top losers on March 27.

On the other hand, the top gainers in the index included Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (4.03%), Wipro (1.22%), Bharti Airtel (0.82%), Tata Consultancy Services (0.42%) and Coal India (0.32%).