FII Buying in Indian Stocks: IT, Telecom Attract Nearly ₹22,000 Crore in October; Financials, FMCG See Outflows

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought nearly ₹22,000 crore worth of information technology (IT) and telecom shares in the second half of October 2026, according to sector-wise data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). The purchases came even as foreign investors continued to sell shares in several other sectors, including financial services, automobiles and FMCG.

IT stocks received ₹10,915 crore in foreign investment between October 16 and 31, while telecom stocks attracted ₹11,065 crore. Together, the two sectors accounted for ₹21,980 crore in purchases during the fortnight.

Foreign investors bought ₹13,112 crore worth of Indian equities across sectors in the second half of October, compared with net selling of nearly ₹47,955 crore in the first fortnight.

Only five of the 24 sectors tracked by NSDL recorded net foreign inflows during the second half of the month. Eighteen sectors saw outflows.

Despite the buying in the latter half, October ended with net FPI outflows of ₹34,843 crore. Foreign investors had withdrawn ₹35,861 crore in September.

Foreign investment picked up in November. FPIs invested ₹53,739 crore in Indian equities between November 2 and 9, reversing the selling recorded in the previous two months.

The return of foreign buying coincided with a rally in Indian equities. On Wednesday, November 11, the Nifty 50 crossed 25,350 during morning trade, while the Sensex moved above 82,300.

FII Buying in IT and Telecom Stocks

IT recorded ₹10,915 crore in FPI purchases during the second half of October, following selling of ₹27,784 crore between January and September 2026.

The buying came as investors reduced exposure to some overseas technology markets following a sell-off in artificial intelligence-related stocks.

Telecom stocks received ₹11,065 crore during October 16–31, compared with outflows of ₹3,928 crore in the first half of the month.

The sector had recorded foreign selling of ₹30,490 crore between January and mid-October.

The NSDL figures represent investments across each sector and do not provide a stock-wise breakdown of the purchases.

Financial Services, FMCG and Auto Stocks See FPI Selling

Financial services continued to record foreign selling during October. FPIs withdrew ₹9,517 crore from the sector during the month, including ₹883 crore in the second fortnight.

Automobile and FMCG stocks also saw outflows. According to data compiled by Motilal Oswal, foreign investors sold approximately $1 billion each in financial services and FMCG shares during October. Automobile stocks recorded outflows of around $800 million.

In comparison, IT attracted about $1.4 billion during the month, while telecom received approximately $700 million.

The latest NSDL sector-wise figures cover the second half of October. Although foreign investors have increased their overall purchases in November, a comparable sector-wise breakdown for the month is not yet available.

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