stock market
The beginning of the year 2026 has been very turbulent for the Indian stock market. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are continuously withdrawing their money from the Indian market. If we look at the figures for the month of April only, foreign investors have made a huge withdrawal of Rs 60,847 crore (about 6.5 billion dollars). This is not a normal sale. A total of Rs 1.92 lakh crore has been withdrawn from the market in the first four months of the year 2026. This figure is also shocking because in the whole of 2025, foreign investors had withdrawn a total of Rs 1.66 lakh crore. This time that old record has been crossed in just four months.
Why are foreign investors fleeing the market?
If we look at the data, except February this year, there has been heavy selling every month. In January, FPI had withdrawn Rs 35,962 crore. However, there was some relief in February and investment of Rs 22,615 crore came in, which was the largest monthly investment in the last 17 months. But this momentum could not last long. March saw the biggest ever record withdrawal of Rs 1.17 lakh crore and the same negative trend continued in April also. Market experts clearly believe that the instability of the global economy and rapidly increasing geopolitical risks are mainly responsible for this heavy selling. When there is an environment of uncertainty around the world, big investors avoid taking risks.
Cocktail of crude oil and global tension
According to Himanshu Srivastava, principal manager research, Morningstar Investment Research India, rising tensions in the Middle East have set crude oil prices on fire. Due to this, the fear of rising inflation once again has started haunting the world. This concern about inflation has reduced expectations of interest rate cuts by central banks, due to which global bond yields remain at high levels. On the other hand, Angel One senior analyst Waqar Javed Khan considers it a direct ‘risk-off reaction’ to the increasing tension between America and Iran. The price of crude oil has crossed 100 dollars per barrel and the rupee has weakened to the level of 92 against the dollar. All these reasons have made the expensive valuation of the Indian market (on the PE of Nifty 21) even more expensive in the eyes of foreign investors.
Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be considered as investment advice in any way. TV9 Bharatvarsha advises its readers and viewers to consult their financial advisors before taking any money-related decisions.
