FIIs dump nearly ₹8,000 crore of Indian shares as selling intensifies; DIIs buy ₹4,589 crore

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) stepped up their selling of Indian equities on Monday, August 31, offloading shares worth a net ₹7,985.88 crore, provisional data showed.

Foreign investors bought equities worth ₹60,025.88 crore during the session but sold shares worth ₹68,011.76 crore.

The selling was considerably heavier than on Friday, when FIIs had pulled a net ₹5,040 crore out of Indian equities. That means net FII selling jumped by nearly ₹3,000 crore in a single session.

Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) continued to buy, but their purchases weren't enough to fully offset the foreign outflow.

DIIs bought shares worth ₹19,730.38 crore and sold ₹15,141.50 crore, resulting in net purchases of ₹4,588.88 crore.

Put together, FII selling exceeded DII buying by about ₹3,397 crore, leaving institutional flows firmly negative for the session.

Sensex, Nifty end lower

The heavy foreign selling came as the benchmark indices ended Monday in the red.

The Nifty declined 95 points to 24,080, managing to hold above the 24,000 mark. The Sensex fell 307 points to 76,957.

Market breadth was also weak, with the advance-decline ratio at 1:2, meaning roughly two stocks fell for every one that gained.

The Nifty Bank was an exception, closing 529 points higher at 58,025 after seeing a sharp adjustment following the NSE Closing Auction Session. The Midcap index gained 155 points to 64,225.

HDFC Bank gave up its opening gains and weighed on the benchmarks, while ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries provided support. Reliance climbed sharply in the final hour and finished about 1% higher.

Adani stocks tumble after MSCI rejig

Adani Group shares were among the biggest losers following the MSCI rejig.

Adani Enterprises ended 10% lower and Adani Ports fell 7%. Adani Energy, Adani Green and Adani Power were also among the major Midcap losers, declining between 7% and 10%.

Auto stocks largely finished higher ahead of monthly sales data, with Bajaj Auto among the stronger performers.

Eternal was among the top Nifty losers amid reports that Zomato is preparing to lay off around 250 employees.

Ather Energy extended its rally, gaining more than 6% following the launch of a new scooter based on its EL platform. Indian Hotels, Aurobindo Pharma, Nykaa and Paytm were among the other prominent Midcap gainers.

Kaynes Technology, meanwhile, dropped 7% following concerns raised by Investec after its review of the company's annual report.

Also Read: Stocks to Watch for September 1: ITC, Happiest Minds, HDFC Bank, ONGC and more