BENGALURU, April 21 Reuters Foreign portfolio investors FPIs started the new financial year buying Indian equities, according to National Securities Depository Ltd NSDL data.

FPIs purchased shares worth 87.67 billion Indian rupees 1.07 billion on a net basis in the first half of April. They had been net buyers in the previous month too, but that was largely due to U.S. boutique investment firm GQG Partners39; 1.87 billion investment in four Adani Group companies in early March.

The benchmark Nifty 50 slid 4.12 between January and March this year, lowering its pricetoearnings ratio to 20.44 as of March 31, from 21.79 at the start of the year, according to NSE data.

FPIs sold equities worth 376.32 billion rupees in the previous fiscal, marking two straight years of net sales for the first time. The sales came after record purchases of 2,740.32 billion rupees in FY2021.

Analysts expected FPI flows to improve after the selling witnessed in the last two financial years.

Foreign flows for the last two years have been negative. Rarely have foreign investors been aggressive sellers of Indian equities for three years in a row, G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics, said.

Aided by the FPI buying, the Nifty 50 rose 2.7 in the first half of April.

PURCHASES AND SALES

After selling financial services shares worth 299.93 billion rupees in FY2023, FPIs bought 44.10 billion rupees in the sector in the first half of April. Analysts said that easing risks of…