Sell-off in Indian equities due to FII profit booking: Finance Minister Sitharaman

Says Indian economy has an environment in which investments are yielding good returns

Mumbai: Seeking to assuage concerns over foreign institutional investors (FII) selling Indian equities lately, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday attributed the action to profit booking.

Speaking to reporters in the financial capital, Sitharaman said the Indian economy is one where the investors are bagging better returns which leads to profit booking. “FIIs also go out when they are able to or in a position to book profits. Indian market today, Indian economy today, has an environment in which investments are also yielding good returns and profit booking is also happening,” she said.

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It can be noted that FIIs have sold over Rs 1.56 lakh crore of stocks since October last year, including nearly Rs 1 lakh crore in 2025 itself, which has led to a sharp correction on the indices and wiping out investor wealth. Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said FIIs are not moving from one emerging market to other, and added that in times of global uncertainties like the one being witnessed right now, they tend to go back to the country of origin, which is mostly the US.

He also hinted that these shifts may be temporary, and added that Indian markets are resilient. Explaining that apart from demand-supply issues, growth prospects also influence investor behaviour, Pandey said India remains the fastest-growing large economy and added that the recently announced Budget has a slew of growth-oriented measures.

“We have faced global headwinds in the past and will continue to face them. But I think India is in a strong position to handle it,” he added.