Mumbai, May 17 (IANS) Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued their buying streak in Indian equities for the third straight session on Friday, mopping up shares worth Rs 8,831.1 crore — the highest single-day inflow since March 27, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) released on Saturday.

The strong FPI inflow highlights growing foreign investor confidence in Indian markets, especially amid broader global uncertainties.

On Thursday, FPIs had bought shares worth Rs 5,746.5 crore, taking the total net inflow so far in May to Rs 18,620 crore.

This marks a sharp improvement from April, when overseas investors had net bought Rs 4,223 crore worth of equities, as per National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) data.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also turned net buyers on Friday after a brief pause, purchasing equities worth Rs 5,187.1 crore.

Despite the robust foreign inflows, benchmark indices ended lower on Friday due to profit booking in large-cap stocks.

The Nifty slipped 42.30 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 25,019.80, while the Sensex declined 200.15 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 82,330.59.

During the intra-day session, the Nifty had dropped as much as 0.44 per cent to 24,953.05 and the Sensex fell 0.47 per cent to 82,146.95.

However, for the week ended May 16, both indices logged strong gains – with the Nifty rising 4.21 per cent and the Sensex climbing 3.62 per cent, marking their best weekly performance since October 2024.

According to Nandish Shah, Senior Derivatives and Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, “Nifty continues to trade above its short-term moving averages, maintaining a bullish trend. The next resistance is seen at 25,207, while support is placed around 24,800.”

FPI participation in Indian equities has seen a turnaround in May after a sluggish start to 2025.

In the first three months of the year, foreign investors were net sellers — offloading equities worth Rs 78,027 crore in January, Rs 34,574 crore in February, and Rs 3,973 crore in March.

–IANS

pk/rad