FIIs sold a net ₹298.26 crore worth of shares, according to provisional exchange data. They bought equities worth ₹15,276.94 crore and sold ₹15,575.20 crore during the session.
The selling followed three consecutive sessions of net purchases. FIIs had bought a net ₹502.63 crore on Wednesday and ₹1,593.53 crore on Tuesday.
DIIs buy nearly ₹5,000 crore
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), meanwhile, remained strong buyers.
DIIs bought a net ₹4,977.17 crore of equities on Thursday, with gross purchases of ₹19,605.60 crore against sales of ₹14,628.43 crore.
That followed net buying of ₹6,425.16 crore on Wednesday, meaning domestic institutions have pumped more than ₹11,400 crore into equities over the past two sessions alone.
Taken together, FIIs and DIIs were net buyers of ₹4,678.91 crore on Thursday, despite the return of modest foreign selling.
Sensex falls 539 points despite domestic buying
The institutional buying wasn’t enough to keep the broader market in the green.
The Sensex fell 539 points to close at 76,933, while the Nifty declined 117 points to 24,091. Both benchmarks ended at a one-week low, with market breadth firmly tilted towards declining stocks.
The Nifty Bank lost 274 points to finish at 57,510, while the Midcap index slipped 66 points to 64,035.
HDFC Bank was among the biggest drags on both the Nifty and Nifty Bank, with the stock ending at a four-year low. Hindalco was the Nifty’s biggest loser as weakness in metal prices weighed on the stock.
Auto shares also largely ended lower, with Mahindra & Mahindra among the major laggards. Shriram Finance extended its decline to close 1.5% lower, while Bharti Airtel fell 1% after comments from Singtel about its holding weighed on sentiment.
There were pockets of strength. Adani Enterprises gained 2% following a positive brokerage note, while Kotak Mahindra Bank extended Wednesday’s advance, taking its gains for the week to about 5%.
Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance fell 4-5%, while jewellery stocks gained amid reports of a possible customs-duty cut. Container Corporation of India dropped more than 4% following a sharp selloff in the final hour of trade.
Tata Power fell 3% after losing an arbitration case, while BHEL gained more than 4% on strong volumes. Electrical-equipment stocks also advanced following a US government order, with CG Power rising about 4%.
Also Read: DIIs step up buying with ₹6,425 crore inflow as FIIs remain net buyers for third day
