Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in Indian equities on Friday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to buy, according to provisional exchange data.
FIIs sold equities worth ₹542.71 crore on a net basis on August 21, compared with net selling of ₹583.36 crore on Thursday. DIIs, meanwhile, bought equities worth ₹2,124.14 crore, although their buying was lower than the ₹3,537.71 crore recorded a day earlier.
FIIs bought equities worth ₹12,560.91 crore and sold ₹13,103.62 crore during the session. DIIs bought ₹15,258.71 crore worth of equities and sold ₹13,134.57 crore.
Separately, the Indian market ended largely flat in a muted session on Friday, with the Nifty gaining 20 points to close at 24,252 and holding above the 24,200 mark.
The Sensex edged up 3 points to 77,541, while the Nifty Bank outperformed, gaining 266 points to 57,762. The Midcap index rose 64 points to 63,736. Market breadth remained balanced, with the advance-decline ratio at around 1:1.
Welspun Corp surged 15% to hit a record high after the company announced a $1.8 billion order win. IndiGo was among the top Nifty losers, falling more than 1.5% as domestic air traffic in July hit a four-year low.
Sugar stocks snapped their recent gaining streak after the government allowed sugar imports at zero duty. Balrampur Chini Mills fell 6%.
Gold-financing stocks gained up to 2% as spot gold prices rose, while Hindustan Zinc jumped 4% as spot silver prices gained 3% to $70 an ounce.
Fund flow weekly trend
Over the week from Aug 17 to Aug 21 2026, FII activity remained mixed, with foreign investors recording net selling on three of the five trading sessions.
FIIs were net sellers of ₹2,535.10 crore on 17 August, followed by net buying of ₹1,651.53 crore on 18 August and ₹407.99 crore on 19 August.
Selling returned on 20 August at ₹583.36 crore and continued on 21 August at ₹542.71 crore. Overall, the data indicates a cautious stance among foreign investors toward Indian equities during the week.
In contrast, DIIs remained consistently net buyers throughout the week, providing strong support to the domestic market.
Also Read: FIIs turn sellers, DIIs remain buyers as markets snap 7-day losing streak
First Published: Aug 21, 2026 8:13 PM IST
