Foreign portfolio investors pumped a net Rs 84,290 crore into Indian equities during November 2-13, covering nine trading sessions, according to data from the depositories reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI) on Sunday, November 15. The buying marks a sharp reversal after two consecutive months of net outflows, PTI reported.

Source: PTI via The Hindu BusinessLine

The latest inflows follow net withdrawals of Rs 34,843 crore in October and Rs 35,861 crore in September, according to the depository data. With the November buying, cumulative FPI outflows from Indian equities in 2026 have narrowed to around Rs 2.1 lakh crore, from nearly Rs 3 lakh crore a few weeks ago, PTI reported. NSDL's FPI monitor, compiled independently, totals Rs 84,291 crore for the same period — a Rs 1 crore rounding difference from the PTI figure.

Source: NSDL FPI monitor via StocksXray

Why the money came back

PTI attributed the shift in sentiment largely to a sell-off in global AI-linked stocks, falling crude prices and attractive large-cap valuations. Brent crude declined around 13 per cent during the first week of November to nearly $97 per barrel, the wire reported. Vedant Gupte, co-founder and CEO of investment platform Trackk, was quoted by PTI as calling November's foreign buying "a sharp tactical turn, not yet a structural return", with most of the buying going into index heavyweights as investors closed an extreme underweight position on India.

Source: PTI via The Hindu BusinessLine

The buying helped the market's recovery: the Nifty has rebounded more than 13 per cent from its October 8 closing level, with a November-to-date gain of 9.1 per cent, the Economic Times reported. Foreign investors were net buyers in all four trading sessions of the holiday-shortened week ended November 13, purchasing a net Rs 33,340 crore that week, according to Pabitro Mukherjee, Deputy Vice President-Research at Bajaj Broking, cited by the Economic Times; domestic institutional investors were net sellers of Rs 24,190 crore in the same week.

Source: Economic Times via FVBB

The caution flags

Despite the November surge, foreign investors remain net sellers of more than Rs 2 lakh crore in Indian equities in 2026 overall, reflecting the scale of withdrawals earlier in the year. Analysts cited in the reports also flagged India's October retail inflation of 6.09 per cent, above the Reserve Bank of India's 6 per cent upper tolerance limit, and crude oil prices as risks that will decide whether the buying lasts. Markets will next track wholesale inflation and goods trade data scheduled for Monday, November 16, analysts said.