Foreign Institutional Investors have significantly reduced their exposure to Indian equities, with FII ownership declining to 14.7% in April 2026 from 19.9% in April 2016, according to JM Financial's latest study. The brokerage firm studied changes in foreign institutional investor holdings across nearly 190 companies and found that while FIIs reduced stakes in 112 stocks, buying remained concentrated in telecom, capital goods and select industrial counters. The report identified 360 ONE, GE Vernova T&D, Bharti Airtel, One 97 Communications and InterGlobe Aviation among companies witnessing strong increases in FII ownership between December 2023 and March 2026.
Bharti Airtel emerged as the strongest accumulation story, with FII holding rising to 28.8% from 22.7% between December 2023 and March 2026, as reported by JM Financial. The telecom major also featured among stocks where FII selling remained limited despite strong earnings growth expectations, with the brokerage firm estimating earnings per share CAGR at 46% between 2023 and 2026. GE Vernova T&D saw one of the sharpest jumps in FII ownership, with holding climbing to 18.5% from 0.7%, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone also featured among stocks where overseas ownership held steady despite broader selling across the market.
At the sector level, capital goods attracted net inflows of $2,894 million during the one-year period from March 2025 to March 2026, while telecom drew $2,914 million in inflows, according to JM Financial's report. Metals also remained in positive territory with net inflows of $2,247 million. Within large-cap metal names, Hindalco Industries recorded an increase in FII ownership to 30% in March 2026 from 28.2% in December 2025, while JSW Steel stood out among companies where FII selling remained limited despite strong earnings growth expectations, with JM Financial estimating earnings per share CAGR at 30% between 2023 and 2026.
Banking, financial services and insurance stocks recorded the sharpest sectoral reduction in FII ownership, with exposure falling to 35.5% in December 2025 from 40.4% in December 2023, as reported by JM Financial. Information technology recorded the deepest annual outflow among all sectors at $9,222 million between March 2025 and March 2026. Axis Bank saw FII ownership fall to 41.2% from 52.9% since December 2023, while KPIT Technologies recorded the steepest fall in FII ownership with holding dropping to 13.6% from 26.5% in December 2023. The report noted that March 2026 stood out as particularly brutal with BFSI alone seeing $6,488 million of outflows.
Despite the broad-based selling, Domestic Institutional Investors continued absorbing a large part of the selling pressure, with JM Financial noting that in 39 out of 41 Nifty stocks where FIIs sold, DIIs increased their stake. The brokerage firm's report showed that FIIs increased their stake in 78 stocks, indicating selective buying despite the broader selling trend. JM Financial concluded that the latest ownership data points to a market where Foreign Institutional Investors are no longer taking broad-based India calls, instead concentrating money in telecom, infrastructure, capital goods and select industrial names while reducing exposure to banking, consumer and technology stocks.
