How was the FII buying and the global markets on 20-Dec and how do you see the markets for 21-December?

On 20-Dec, the Nifty fell by 371 points and Sensex by 1,189 points. It must be remembered that Sensex bounced nearly 700 points from the lower levels, but that was still not sufficient to bring any semblance of normalcy to the markets. Among other indicators, the A/D ratio was deeply unfavourable at 3:47 and most financials and rate sensitive stocks came for a battering. Even the VIX was up sharply by 16% to 18.97 levels on 20-December.

But let me come back to your core question and first address the issue of FII buying in the Indian markets. Foreign investors continued to net sell equities and there is little surprise about that. On 20-December, FIIs net sold equities worth Rs.3,565 crore while domestic funds and LIC together bought stocks worth Rs.2,764 crore on Monday. However, even as FIIs have been relentless sellers in India, then continue to buy other Asian EMs.

Through Monday, there was heavy selling across all the global markets. Consider these numbers. Dow cracked sharply losing nearly 433 points while the tech-laden NASDAQ lost over 188 points on Monday 20-December. Markets across Europe were also sharply down by 100-150 basis points. However, in early trades, the SGX Nifty is trading 64 bps higher and it remains to be seen if the Indian markets can stage a recovery on 21-Decmeber, Tuesday.