The headline numbers
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold a net ₹1,22,540 crore of Indian equities in March 2026. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought a net ₹1,42,961 crore. The Nifty 50 closed February at 25,178.65 and March at 22,331.40, down 11.31%.
Both figures are the largest for any month in our daily record, which begins in September 2024. The previous high on both sides was October 2024: FIIs sold ₹1,14,446 crore that month and DIIs bought ₹1,07,255 crore.
All figures are NSE's provisional cash-market numbers in ₹ crore, as shown session by session on our FII and DII data page.
March in numbers
| Bought | Sold | Net | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FII / FPI | 2,78,801 | 4,01,341 | −1,22,540 |
| DII | 4,14,657 | 2,71,697 | +1,42,961 |
The month had 19 sessions.
- FIIs were net sellers on all 19. The only other month in our record without a single day of FII net buying is October 2024.
- DIIs were net buyers on all 19. Their purchases exceeded FII sales by ₹20,420 crore.
- The heaviest day came last. On 30 March, the final session of the month, FIIs sold a net ₹11,163.1 crore and DIIs bought ₹14,894.7 crore. That DII figure is the largest single-day purchase in our record. The Nifty fell 2.14% that day.
- The lightest FII day was 25 March, at −₹1,805.4 crore.
Our post of 25 March caught the month as FII selling crossed ₹1 lakh crore, with October 2024 still ₹9,241 crore ahead. The last three sessions (25, 27 and 30 March) added ₹17,335.8 crore and settled it.
The quarter and the financial year
| Quarter | FII net | DII net |
|---|---|---|
| Oct–Dec 2024 | −1,77,402 | +1,85,934 |
| Jan–Mar 2025 | −1,44,349 | +1,89,031 |
| Apr–Jun 2025 | +21,997 | +1,68,545 |
| Jul–Sep 2025 | −1,29,871 | +2,21,111 |
| Oct–Dec 2025 | −54,197 | +2,09,498 |
| Jan–Mar 2026 | −1,70,616 | +2,50,605 |
On a quarterly view the record splits. The first quarter of 2026 is the largest quarter of DII buying we hold. It is not the largest of FII selling: October to December 2024 was bigger, by about ₹6,786 crore, even though no single month in it matched March.
Most of the quarter's selling sits in one month. January contributed ₹41,435 crore and February ₹6,641 crore; March supplied 72% of the total.
The financial year ended with the session on 30 March. Over April 2025 to March 2026, FIIs sold a net ₹3,32,687 crore across 247 sessions and DIIs bought a net ₹8,49,759 crore. The Nifty 50 went from 23,519.35 at the end of the previous financial year to 22,331.40, a fall of 5.05%.
April so far
The new month began much as March ended. On 1 April FIIs sold a net ₹8,331.2 crore and DIIs bought ₹7,171.8 crore. The Nifty 50 rose 1.56% to 22,679.40. Counting from 26 February, that makes 22 sessions in a row of FII net selling.
What these numbers do not tell you
A record in a short record. Our daily series starts in September 2024. "Largest month" means largest in about a year and a half, not in the history of Indian markets.
Selling and falling are not the same thing. DIIs bought ₹20,420 crore more than FIIs sold in March and the Nifty still fell 11.31%. Institutions are two groups among many, and prices are set by everyone trading.
The figures are provisional and partial. NSE publishes them each evening for the cash market only, rounded to ₹0.1 crore a day here. They exclude derivatives, debt and IPO allocations, so they differ from NSDL's monthly FPI data.
A flow is not a forecast. Nothing in March's totals says what April holds.
Where to go from here
The FII and DII data page has every session. Our March 2026 market recap covers the month across indices and funds, and the Nifty's 15% fall puts the drop in context. For why foreign money moves, read how global macro reaches your fund.
Frequently asked questions
How much did FIIs sell in March 2026?
On NSE's provisional cash-market figures, foreign institutional investors sold a net ₹1,22,540 crore of Indian shares in March 2026: ₹2,78,801 crore of purchases against ₹4,01,341 crore of sales, across 19 sessions. They were net sellers on every one of them.
Is March 2026 a record month for FII selling?
It is the largest month in our daily record, which starts in September 2024. The previous largest was October 2024, at ₹1,14,446 crore. DII buying of ₹1,42,961 crore in March 2026 is also the largest month in that record.
How much did FIIs and DIIs trade in January to March 2026?
In the first quarter of 2026 FIIs sold a net ₹1,70,616 crore and DIIs bought a net ₹2,50,605 crore. Over the financial year from April 2025 to March 2026, FIIs sold ₹3,32,687 crore and DIIs bought ₹8,49,759 crore.
This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are WealthTicker’s own calculations from public data — AMFI’s fund NAVs and disclosures, NSE’s index and FII/DII files, and the fund houses’ monthly portfolios (how we calculate). They are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.
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