Auto stocks correct, but no clearance sale yet

Sales blitz

- Dipti Sharma

Automobile and ancillary sectors remain caught in the FII-selling storm that has been ravaging Indian stock markets for over six months.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued selling automobile and auto component stocks for the seventh month in February by offloading shares worth $454 million.

The sector that lost FII interest in August 2024 saw the heaviest net equity outflows in October 2024, at $1.24 billion, according to data from National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).

To be sure, FIIs sold Indian equities worth $5.35 billion in February, mostly in the construction sector at $826 million. They, however, invested $917 million into telecom equipment stocks, showed NSDL data.

Overall, FIIs have sold Indian equities worth over $18 billion since August 2024.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs), which have been anchoring Indian markets amid the FII exodus, too, have been careful and selective about their exposure to auto and ancillary sectors.

Mutual fund holding data showed a split in sentiment among domestic investors.