Indian stocks stay firm, defy FPI selling

Indian stock indices continued their gains from where they left the previous session, though marginally, supported by strong US markets coupled with improved investor sentiment with the relative easing of tensions in the Middle East.

At 9.30 am Tuesday, Sensex was at 74,736.87 points, up just 65.59 points or 0.088 per cent, while Nifty was at 22,678.15 points, up 34.75 points or 0.15 per cent. All Nifty sectoral indices were in the green, with Nifty auto the top mover. Going back, snapping a four-day winning streak, Indian stock indices closed sharply lower last week, primarily due to risk aversion by investors amid weak global cues.

Volatility also returned in Indian stock markets after a smooth rally at the start of April, primarily driven by Foreign Portfolio Investor selling activity. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned net sellers in Indian stocks lately, as the ongoing geopolitical crisis in the Middle East likely pushed investors to take money off their portfolios.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who continued to remain net buyers for the third month until a few days ago in April, have cumulatively sold stocks worth Rs 8,677 crore, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed.

"This bull market is remaining resilient despite headwinds, and is slowly gathering momentum despite high valuations. A significant feature of the ongoing bull run is that the FIIs are consistently being outsmarted by the DIIs and retail investors," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

"Every time the US bond yields go up, particularly when the 10-year yield rises above 4.5 per cent, the FIIs have been selling. But the DII plus retail buying has been completely overwhelming the FII selling, forcing the FIIs to buy the same stocks they sold earlier at higher prices later," Vijayakumar said.

This week will be dominated by the corporate earnings releases and the highly anticipated Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for April 30 to May 1. The US Federal Reserve, in its March meeting, voted to leave the key interest rate unchanged at 5.25-5.50 per cent, keeping the policy rate unchanged for the fifth straight time on the trot to manage high inflation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the interest rates were near zero.