FIIs increased stake in these large caps last quarter. Did you buy any?

Indian stock indices had scaled new highs last October and tested the levels a month ago, only to see a reversal since then. Lately, benchmark indices had seen a marked correction over fears of monetary tightening and an impending war situation in Ukraine. Now, the markets are consolidating around 5% below the peak level.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), or foreign institutional investors (FIIs), have become more cautious about investing in India but quarterly shareholding data shows they pushed up their holding in over 200 listed companies.

This was similar to the previous quarter ended September 30, but the intensity of their stance was much muted with stake increases in just about 7% of the firms as against nearly 25% of the companies where they pushed their stake by 2% or more.

In particular, they increased stake in at least 41 companies that have a valuation of $1 billion or more in the quarter ended December 31. This compares with 89 such firms in the three months ended September 30 and 83 companies in the quarter ended June 30.

Of these 41 companies, half were large-cap companies that saw FPIs push up their holding last quarter.

In particular, they were bullish on insurance firms, mid-tier banks and financial services companies, a few real estate developers, mid-sized drugmakers, as well as engineering and consumer durable firms.

Top large caps that saw FII buying

If we look at the pack of large caps with market capitalisation of Rs 20,000 crore ($2.6 billion) or more, then FPIs pushed up their stake in HDFC Life Insurance, Zomato, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Lodha group firm Macrotech Developers, Gland Pharma, Bandhan Bank and HDFC Asset Management.

Among others, they also turned bullish on Hindustan Aeronautics, AU Small Finance Bank, Tube Investments, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Aditya Birla Capital, 3M India and Dixon Technologies.

Lower down the order, FIIs also upped their stake in ICICI Securities, Aavas Financiers, Whirlpool of India, The New India Assurance, Clean Science & Tech, and Nippon Life India.

While HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Securities, Aavas Financiers, Clean Science & Tech, Hindustan Aeronautics and Gujarat Fluorochemicals had also figured in the pack where FIIs bought more stake in the previous quarter ended September 30, most of these are different.

Meanwhile, in just over a dozen firms FIIs picked 2% or more additional stake last quarter. This list of firms with a market cap of Rs 20,000 crore or more where FIIs raised stake by 2% or more includes just one name: Macrotech.

The previous quarter ended September had seen FPIs’ bullish stance on firms like HDFC Life Insurance, Havells India, Godrej Properties, Voltas, Clean Science & Tech and Aavas Financiers.