DIIs step up buying in equity markets in August as FPI flows soften | Economy & Policy News

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) stepped up buying in the equity market in August, deploying a net of Rs 48,347 crore, the highest in three months.

The surge in DII inflows came amid the softening of foreign institutional investor (FII) flows. FIIs invested around Rs 10,000 crore this month after deploying over Rs 25,000 crore in the previous two months. In 2024 so far, FIIs have invested a net of Rs 43,878 crore. In the same period, DIIs have put in over Rs 3 trillion.

The strong flows helped the market scale new highs during the month. The benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 indices ended the month with gains of 0.8 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively. The broader market indices representing midcap and smallcap stocks also ended with gains, albeit a bit lower than the gains in largecap indices.

MFs have emerged as a key support for the equity market as investors have been pouring in higher sums into these schemes through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route. In July, gross SIP inflows had touched a new high of Rs 23,332 crore. The surge in MFs’ equity buying in August indicates that inflows into MF schemes may have gone up this month.

Ebb and flow
	Net investments (Rs crore)
Month	FPI	DII
Dec-23	58498	12942
Jan-24	-26111	26744
Feb-24	4000	25379
Mar-24	30897	56312
Apr-24	-6820	44186
May-24	-22159	55733
Jun-24	25940	28633
Jul-24	27958	23486
Aug-24	10174	48347