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News Topical, Digital Desk : The year 2025 was not an easy one for the Indian stock market. Foreign investors sold aggressively throughout the year, and the figures were astonishing. On average, foreign investors sold shares worth ₹110 crore per trading hour. Despite this, the market did not collapse completely. The biggest reason for this was domestic investors, who provided strong support by purchasing approximately ₹510 crore per hour. This is why the story of 2025 was not just about selling, but also about strength.
The year 2025 saw a major shift in the Indian stock market. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were consistently selling throughout the year.
According to reports, in 2025, foreign investors sold an average of ₹110 crore per trading hour in Indian stocks. This figure indicates that foreign investor confidence remained weak throughout the year. Overall, foreign investors were net sellers on 141 of the 234 trading days. This means that nearly two-thirds of the days saw foreign investors withdraw money from the market. This is the highest in the last 20 years. Previously, in 2008, during the global financial crisis, foreign investor outflows were even higher. By December 2025, total foreign investor outflows had reached around ₹1.52 lakh crore. Considering a six-hour trading session, this translates to selling of over ₹110 crore per hour. As of December 16, 2025, FIIs/FPIs have net sold approximately ₹1.6 lakh crore in Indian equities in the calendar year 2025. According to Moneycontrol data, FPIs withdrew approximately ₹17,955 crore from equities in the first two weeks of December (till the 14th). NSE FII-DII data shows December month-till-date net selling of ₹23,455.75 crore (all exchanges combined) as of December 16. PTI report for the entire year (till December 16) : FPI net equity outflows in 2025 so far have reached approximately ₹1.6 lakh crore (USD 18.4 billion), surpassing the outflows in 2022. This means that FIIs have sold approximately ₹1.6 lakh crore throughout the year, while December alone has seen net outflows. By the 16th, net selling of approximately ₹23,000–24,000 crore had already taken place.
Despite this, the Indian market remained largely unaffected. The reason for this is clear: domestic institutional investors (DIIs). Domestic investors made significant purchases in 2025. According to reports, DIIs purchased approximately ₹510 crore per trading hour. Money continued to flow into the market through mutual fund SIPs, insurance companies, and pension funds. This cushioned the local market. However, the impact of foreign investor selling was not completely eliminated. Large-cap stocks, or large-cap stocks, held their own well. The Nifty 100 Total Return Index was up by approximately 10 percent in 2025. Mid-cap stocks rose by approximately 5 percent, while small-cap stocks declined by approximately 7 percent. This means that smaller stocks were the most affected by foreign selling.
There were several reasons behind the selling by foreign investors. Experts told CNBC Awaaz that the high valuations of the Indian market, uncertainty over US bond yields, global trade tensions and increasing caution about investing in emerging markets – all these together forced FPIs to stay away.
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