FIIs invest Rs 3,500 cr in equities since Budget

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have made a net investment of Rs 3,500 crore in the Indian stock markets since the presentation of the Budget in Parliament on July 6, even as the benchmark index Sensex lost over nine per cent in the same period. An analysis of FIIs activity in the domestic markets shows that overseas investors were the net purchaser of Indian stocks worth Rs 3,499.5 crore during the last week.
FIIs were the gross buyer of shares worth Rs 17,092.1 crore during the week, while they sold equities valued at Rs 13,592.6 crore, resulting in a net inflow of Rs 3,499.5 crore, as per the data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Significantly, during the past week, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark index Sensex -- composed of 30 bluechip stocks -- dropped 9.44 per cent to end at 13,584.22 points. On the Budget day, FIIs booked profit and sold shares worth Rs 351.3 crore, dragging the benchmark indices in the negative zone. The SEBI compiles the trade data one day late.On July 6, the day Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented general Budget in the lower house of Parliament, Sensex suffered the biggest fall on any Budget day and in the year too by plunging over 870 points on concerns of high fiscal deficit.

Mukherjee said the fiscal deficit may rise to 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product in the year 2009-10, the highest since 1994.In five trading sessions from July 6 to July 10, FIIs were the net seller for three sessions, while, for other days they remained net purchaser.During the week, the foreign investors also put in money worth Rs 2,984.9 crore in the debt market segment, while so far this year, FIIs are the net seller of Rs 1,356.10 crore in debt instruments.