FII investment crosses $3 billion-mark in 2009

New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) Foreign Institutional Investors
(FIIs) inflow into the Indian stock markets has crossed the
three-billion-dollar mark (over Rs 15,725 crore) so far this
year, with as much as two billion dollar coming in just five
trading sessions.

As per the latest data available with the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI), FIIs made net purchases worth
3.2 billion dollars or over Rs 15,725 crore so far in 2009,
with the stock market seeing major investments in the past
three weeks.

On Tuesday alone, FIIs put in as much as Rs 5,044.8 crore
(1.06 billion dollars) in the domestic share markets, the SEBI
data shows.

"Since several past weeks, overseas fund houses are
making investments in the many emerging markets and India is
the part of that investment," brokerage firm Sharekhan's
Research Head Gaurav Dua said from Mumbai.

Since last week, FII inflows increased significantly with
net investments of Rs 4,085 crore on May 14, followed by 1,000
crore on May 18, Rs 53 crore on May 19 and again a huge Rs
5,044 crore on May 20.

However, during the period, the markets also witnessed
sale of shares worth Rs 345 crore by the overseas investors,
the SEBI data shows.

Since the beginning of new fiscal year, FIIs have started
putting money in domestic stocks, including blue-chips.

In May alone, FIIs made gross purchases of equities worth
Rs 44,705.2 crore and sold shares of Rs 29,336.1 crore,
resulting in a net investment of Rs 15,368.80 crore ($3.1
billion).

After pulling out a hefty Rs 52,987 crore from the Indian
stock markets in 2008, which saw the Bombay Stock Exchange
benchmark Sensex plunging 51 per cent, FIIs have turned net
buyers during the last week of April.

The Sensex has gained over 45 per cent so far this year
to touch 14,302 points, the highest level in the past seven
months.

A day after the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress party emerged
as the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha, the
benchmark index of the BSE witnessed the highest ever
single-day gain of nearly 2,100 points to cross the 14,000
level on May 18, also the first time in 2009.

On the same day, trading was halted at the BSE and NSE
twice as, for the first time in the history of the Indian
stock markets, the benchmark indices hit the upper circuit,
that too within some seconds of trade.

Further, the country's leading bourse, National Stock
Exchange, witnessed the highest-ever trading volume in a
single day, while the number of trades crossed the one-crore
mark.

The number of trades at the NSE witnessed a record 1.12
crore trades, data available on the NSE shows. Moreover, it
saw a record daily turnover in terms of value at Rs 40,151.91
crore and a record traded quantity of 19,225 lakh shares.

The BSE’s Sensex had scaled a high of 21,206.77 points in
January last year, but dipped to a low of 7,697.39 points in
October. It had closed the trade at 9,647.31 points in 2008.

Indicating a revival in the stock market, the flight of
FIIs back to the Indian markets saw an infusion of Rs 6,508
crore in the capital market in April alone, the highest
monthly infusion so far this year.

An analysis of the data of foreign investment showed that
the confidence of FIIs in Indian equities has started to build
in the month of March as they bought equities worth Rs 530
crore. PTI