Mkt may turn rough as FPI shorts hit 7-mth high

The stock market appears headed for further turbulence, with foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) raising their bearish bets to a seven-month high, even as they continue to sell in the cash market.

- Ram Sahgal

Amid rising uncertainty in the domestic and global macroeconomic environments, FPIs increased cumulative net shorts on Nifty and Bank Nifty futures to 238,321 contracts on 8 January. This is the highest since 6 June last year when they were net short 287,426 contracts, according to analytics firm IndiaCharts, which cited NSE data.

Over the past three months, FPIs' shorting in Indian markets has been continuous but varying in intensity. Shorting rose in the wake of India's official statistics office estimating FY25 economic growth at 6.4%, a four-year low, lower than the central bank's revised estimate of 6.6%.