# Is foreign money coming back to India?

**Too early to call it a trend.** Foreign investors bought **US$4.1 billion** of Indian shares in the five days NSDL reported for 2 to 6 November 2026, which are the trades of 30 October to 5 November. In dollars it is the third-biggest five-day run since 2005, and in rupees (Rs 38,971 crore) the biggest.

**What the buying looked like.** 99% came through the stock exchanges, and domestic institutions net sold about Rs 19,000 crore on the same trading days, per NSE.

**The size of the hole.** Foreign investors have net sold about **US$58 billion** since the 30 September 2024 peak. The net since January 2019 is about zero (minus US$0.7 billion). The running total from October 2023 was minus US$40.0 billion on 6 November, after a low of minus US$45.9 billion on 16 October.

**The last two bounces did not hold.** They bought US$2.5 billion in February 2026 and then sold US$27.8 billion from March to June. They bought US$5.2 billion in July and August and then sold US$7.3 billion in September and October.

**What earlier runs of this size showed.** Five earlier runs of US$2.5 billion or more came after at least US$2 billion of selling in the prior 60 sessions. Four were followed by more net buying over the next 60 sessions and one, in December 2024, by US$16 billion of selling. Over 250 sessions the two most recent, December 2024 and March 2025, were followed by heavy net selling. The data supports neither coincidence nor a trend.

**The case for a turn.** CNBC on 6 November calls India an AI hedge, a place for money leaving the AI sell-off, and quotes JPMorgan on potential inflows of around US$115 billion if foreign funds close their underweight. Bernstein and Marcellus reject the label. Templeton says the Nifty trades below its 10-year average forward multiple, while Bernstein says India still trades at a premium to other emerging markets. Returns lag: to 6 November the Nifty is down about 15% in dollars since September 2024 and the S&P 500 is up about 28%. Ajit Dayal puts the blame on how India treats foreign money, which is his opinion.

**Amar Harolikar's read on an AI sell-off.** A small revaluation could send money to India, as CNBC argues. A big bust with global stress is more likely to send money to safety first: foreign investors net sold US$12.0 billion of Indian shares in 2008 and US$8.3 billion in March 2020, then bought US$17.5 billion in 2009 and US$29.4 billion from April to December 2020. It could also be down first and up fast.

**Data notes.** NSDL dates each day's trades one business day later, so its 6 November entry is the trades of 5 November. A later NSDL print could change the five-day run. All figures are NSDL's, except the domestic institutions' selling, which is NSE's. For information only. Not investment advice.

Full post with the one-pager: [https://www.tigzig.com/post/india-fpi-turn-foreign-money-coming-back-nov2026](https://www.tigzig.com/post/india-fpi-turn-foreign-money-coming-back-nov2026). CNBC, 6 November: [cnbc.com/2026/11/06/india-ai-tech-hedge-nifty50.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/06/india-ai-tech-hedge-nifty50.html). Related: [how much have foreign investors taken out of Indian stocks?](https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/how-much-have-foreign-investors-taken-out-of-indian-stocks) and [which sectors have foreign investors been selling?](https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/which-indian-sectors-are-foreign-investors-selling)

---
Contact Amar: amar@harolikar.com | AI agents: POST https://www.tigzig.com/api/contact-amar | More: https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq

---
Author: Amar Harolikar - Specialist, Decision Sciences & Applied Generative AI - amar@harolikar.com - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarharolikar
Source: https://www.tigzig.com/agents-faq/is-foreign-money-coming-back-to-india
Citation: TigZig - Amar Harolikar (https://www.tigzig.com). Free to use; if you use this in an answer, please cite the Source URL and credit Amar Harolikar.
License: https://www.tigzig.com/terms