FPI net buy $1.65 Billion in Indian equities in October 2025

7 Nov 2025 , 12:28 PM

FPIS NET BUY $1.65 BILLION IN OCTOBER 2025

There was some respite in FPI flows after FPIs had sold close to $9.8 Billion in Indian equities between July and September. The month of October 2025 saw FPI inflows of $1.65 Billion, largely led by buying in BFSI and oil & gas. FPIs net bought $411 Million in the first fortnight; and $1,236 Million in the second fortnight of the month. The US shutdown continues to hang over the world economy, but FPIs are betting on a weaker dollar and looking for greener pastures in emerging markets. That led to smart FPI inflows in October 2025.

The US monetary policy cut rates by 25 bps in October, but Powell has been quite clear that this may be the last rate cut in 2025. Members of the FOMC are of the view that the risks to inflation and unemployment are elevated, so status quo may be the best choice. The FPI inflows in October 2025 were largely focused on financial services and oil & gas. While BFSI has been an India proxy; buying in oil & gas was led by stellar results from Reliance Industries as well as record GRMs and marketing margins for downstream oil companies.

FPI AUC RECOVERS IN OCTOBER 2025

Between September 2025 and October 2025, FPI equity AUC recovered from $797 Billion to $831 Billion. FPI Equity AUC is still -8.9% below the peak of $931 Billion in September 2024. Combined FPI AUC at $913 Billion is well below the September 2024 peak of $1.04 Trillion.

Industry Group	FPI AUC (Oct-25) ($ Billion)	FPI AUC (Sep-25) ($ Billion)
Financials (BFSI)	261.82	248.41
Automobiles and Auto Components	63.13	64.13
Oil & Gas	60.87	55.62
Information Technology (IT)	58.08	55.10
Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals	54.69	53.05
Capital Goods	45.03	43.99
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)	43.37	43.08
Telecommunications	42.70	38.86
Consumer Services	35.85	36.37
Power (generation and transmission)	28.16	26.96
Metals and Mining	26.62	24.84
Consumer Durables	21.09	20.26
Services	19.68	19.21
Realty	15.61	14.39
Construction	15.48	14.09
Chemicals	14.81	14.67
Cement	13.68	13.89
Top 17 Sectors	820.67	786.92
Other 6 sectors	10.69	10.01
Total FPI AUC	831.36	796.93

Data Source: NSDL

These are the top 17 sectors with FPI AUC above $10 Billion as of October 2025. Out of the 23 sectors identified by NSDL, AUC of top-17 sectors accounted for 98.7% of total FPI equity AUC of $831.36 Billion. FPI AUC has recovered in October 2025, after falling for 3 months in succession. Here are drivers of AUC change in October 2025?

At $261.82 Billion, BFSI clearly dominates AUC. The sectors with highest MOM accretion in AUC were; Telecom (9.9%), Construction (9.9%), Oil & Gas (9.4%), Realty (8.5%), and Metals & Mining (7.2%). Sectors that saw depletion in AUC on MOM basis were Autos (-1.6%), Cement (-1.5%), and Consumer Services (-1.4%).

BFSI AND OIL LEAD FPI BUYING IN OCTOBER 2025

In October 2025, FPIs were net buyers of $1.65 Billion. Here are the major sectors with positive FPI flows in October 2025.

FPI Net Buying in Sectors	H1-Oct-25 ($ Million)	H2-Oct-25 ($ Million)	Oct-25 ($ Million)
Financial Services (BFSI)	+937	+564	+1,501
Oil & Gas	+123	+907	+1,030
Metals & Mining	+158	+197	+355
Construction	+73	+179	+252
Telecom	+8	+235	+243

Data Source: NSDL

If one were to look at the sectors to attract the maximum FPI flows, then BFSI, construction, telecom, and to an extent oil & gas are all domestic India stories. Metals are more of a play on the expected recovery in China as well a surge in domestic demand. Oil & gas buying was led by Reliance Industries, while the downstream oil companies also attracted buying interest in October 2025. Telecom was once again the Bharti Airtel story, which has now emerged as the third most valuable company in India, moving past TCS.

CONSUMER FACING COMPANIES STILL SEE HEAVY SELLING

Here is a sectoral break-up of FPI net outflows from Indian equities in October 2025.

FPI Net Selling in Sectors	H1-Oct-25 ($ Million)	H2-Oct-25 ($ Million)	Oct-25 ($ Million)
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)	-339	-143	-482
Consumer Services	-202	-189	-391
Healthcare Services	-310	-41	-351
Information Technology (IT)	-218	-30	-248
Consumer Durables	-24	-174	-198

Data Source: NSDL

There were broadly 2 themes on the sell side. Firstly, there are the pure consumer stocks like FMCG, consumer durables and consumer services. Then the tariff overhang and the visa overhang have taken its toll on sectors like Healthcare and IT. Like in September; even in October 2025, the FPI selling theme remains the same.

OUTLOOK FOR FPI FLOWS IN COMING MONTHS

What will decide the colour of FPI flows in coming months? A lot will depend on how quickly the US is able to come out of the shutdown. The FPIs are betting on dollar weakness and that means EMs are going to see bulk of the inflows. The FPIs will also be closely watching the India Q2 GDP data towards the end of November and the current account deficit data towards early December. They are both critical data points. Quarterly results have been broadly in line with expectations, but the FPI narrative for now will continue to be long on India-specific stories and short on export themes. That is unlikely to change for now!