The month in one line
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Indian equities in October 2026 to the tune of ₹46,996 crore. Domestic institutions (DIIs) were net buyers of ₹58,936 crore. Then, on the last three sessions in our record, the sign on the foreign side flipped. These are NSE's provisional daily cash-market figures, and the totals below add only the sessions we hold: 17 in October.
October at a glance
| FII net | DII net | |
|---|---|---|
| October total (17 sessions) | −₹46,996 cr | +₹58,936 cr |
| Sessions with net selling | 12 | 2 |
| Biggest single session | −₹12,944 cr (8 Oct) | +₹10,704 cr (8 Oct) |
The heaviest day for both sides was 8 October, when FIIs sold ₹12,943.58 crore and DIIs bought ₹10,703.11 crore. The two numbers almost cancel, which is the pattern for most of the month: where foreign selling was heavy, domestic buying was heavy too.
How the selling was spread
The month began with ten straight sessions of FII net selling, from 1 to 15 October, ranging from ₹1,305 crore on 13 October to ₹12,944 crore on 8 October. Only five October sessions had positive FII flows: 16, 21, 23, 28 and 30 October.
DIIs were net buyers on 15 of the 17 sessions. The two exceptions were 16 October (−₹3,661 crore) and 30 October (−₹818 crore).
The last three sessions
| Date | FII net | DII net |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Oct | +₹871.83 cr | +₹643.35 cr |
| 30 Oct | +₹3,598.54 cr | −₹817.51 cr |
| 2 Nov | +₹3,114.68 cr | −₹392.20 cr |
Added up, FIIs were net buyers of ₹7,585 crore across those three sessions while DIIs were net sellers of about ₹566 crore. Sessions between these dates are missing from our record, so "consecutive" here means consecutive on record, not necessarily consecutive trading days.
The longer picture
Looking back to April, the monthly pattern is one of persistent foreign net selling with domestic buying on the other side.
| Month | FII net (₹ cr) | DII net (₹ cr) |
|---|---|---|
| April | −70,136 | +51,064 |
| May | −55,964 | +82,669 |
| June | −49,029 | +85,800 |
| July | −5,779 | +35,099 |
| August | −7,532 | +58,268 |
| September | −44,013 | +76,030 |
| October | −46,996 | +58,936 |
Across April to October, FIIs sold a net ₹2.79 lakh crore on the sessions we hold and DIIs bought ₹4.48 lakh crore. July and August were the two quiet months for foreign selling. FIIs were net buyers on 60 of the 203 sessions in 2026 so far, about 30%.
What this does and does not say
Flow data describes what happened; it does not forecast. A handful of positive sessions after a heavy month is a data point, not a trend. An earlier post, does FII selling move the Nifty, looks at how flows line up with index moves. For the series itself, the FII & DII data page shows daily and monthly figures, and the month-by-month table to October has the longer run.
If you hold an equity mutual fund, these numbers are background rather than an instruction. Fund managers, not flows, decide what your scheme owns, and a SIP is designed to run through months like this one without reacting to it. You can check how your funds have fared against their category on the screener.
Figures are NSE provisional daily data as of 2 November 2026; totals include only sessions stored in our database.
Frequently asked questions
Does three days of FII buying mean the selling is over?
No. Three sessions is a short window, and the daily figures swing widely. In October alone the biggest single-day sale was ₹12,944 crore and the biggest single-day purchase was ₹3,599 crore.
Where do these figures come from?
They are NSE's provisional daily cash-market figures for FIIs/FPIs and DIIs, stored session by session. Totals here add only the sessions in our record.
Why do FII and DII flows often move in opposite directions?
Both trade against the same market, so one side's net selling is the other side's net buying. In October the DIIs were net buyers on 15 of 17 sessions and bought ₹58,936 crore, more than the FIIs sold.
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.
Keep reading
FIIs and DIIs both bought on 109 of 524 sessions since 2024
Of 524 NSE sessions since September 2024, FII selling met DII buying 361 times and both bought 109. What the Nifty did on each type of day.
FIIs sold on 11 of 12 October sessions, ₹49,918 crore
From 1 to 19 October 2026 FIIs were net sellers of ₹49,918 crore on 11 of 12 sessions; DIIs bought ₹51,369 crore. Session-by-session figures from NSE.
Do FII flows move the Nifty? 518 sessions compared
On days FIIs were net buyers the Nifty 50 rose 66% of the time; on net-selling days, 41%. FII flows line up with the day's move, DII flows run opposite.