FPI Selling in September 2026: ₹35,861 Crore by NSDL’s Count, About ₹45,000 Crore by Trade Date

Foreign portfolio investors sold a net ₹35,861 crore of Indian equities in September 2026, according to the month column of NSDL’s FPI report. A further ₹9,232 crore of selling, made on 30 September, is booked in NSDL’s October column because the depository records each day’s trades on the following business day. Counted by trade date, September’s FPI selling comes to about ₹45,093 crore, which is why reports this weekend quote figures ranging from ₹35,860 crore to ₹46,000 crore.

The selling came after two months of buying. Foreign investors put ₹20,200 crore into Indian shares in July and ₹29,631 crore in August, so September undid most of that summer inflow in a single month.

FPI selling in September: three numbers, one month

The different figures in the headlines all come from the same data, cut at different points. The table shows which number is which.

NSDL’s daily page says its figures cover trades “up to the previous trading day”, and that is the whole reason for the gap. Exchange data released on the evening of 30 September put that day’s FPI selling at ₹10,148 crore; NSDL’s settled figure for the same day is ₹9,232 crore. Neither is wrong. They are measured at different stages. PTI’s report, carried by The Hindu, described the ₹9,232 crore as selling on 1 October; under NSDL’s own footnote, data “up to 01 Oct” covers trades up to the previous trading day, which was 30 September.

How 2026 compares so far

September’s FPI selling takes the year’s running total deep into negative territory. NSDL data for the equity segment shows the following month by month.

March is still the worst month of the year by a wide margin. On NSDL’s month columns, September’s outflow is smaller than those of June and April. The Times of India reported that 2026 is now the highest annual net selling by FPIs on record, ahead of roughly ₹1.7 lakh crore of selling in 2025. The Hindu, carrying a PTI report, put the 2025 figure at ₹1.66 lakh crore.

The selling was not limited to shares. NSDL’s report shows foreign investors were also net sellers of Indian debt in September, under the general limit (₹5,247 crore), the voluntary retention route (₹5,049 crore) and the fully accessible route for government bonds (₹10,431 crore). Across all segments, September’s net outflow was ₹58,443 crore. The Times of India described this as the first time in two years that FPIs sold in every reported equity and debt segment.

Why are foreign portfolio investors selling?

Fund managers quoted in the coverage give a consistent list of reasons. Rajesh Singla of Alpha AMC, quoted by PTI, cited “elevated crude prices amid Hormuz-related supply risks, a weak rupee, firm U.S. bond yields, profit-booking and rotation towards AI-led North Asian markets”. Mint’s analysis made the same points about higher U.S. interest rates and oil.

The weak rupee adds to the pressure. A foreign fund measures its returns in dollars, so a falling rupee reduces what it earns from Indian shares even if prices stay flat. We tracked the rupee’s slide in our dollar to rupee explainer, and the RBI’s dollar sales showed up in last week’s record fall in forex reserves.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra touched on the same theme in a speech on 3 October, saying Indian equity markets “have corrected in recent months, albeit from high valuations, but the movement has been orderly.”

What FPI selling means for a mutual fund SIP

Take Meera, who has a ₹10,000 monthly SIP in a Nifty 50 index fund. She does not trade, and nothing in the NSDL data changes how her SIP works. What changes is the price her instalment buys at. When foreign funds sell heavily, prices of large, widely held stocks tend to come under pressure, and the same ₹10,000 buys more units.

The NSDL table cannot tell Meera whether September’s selling will continue. July and August were inflow months, and February was too, so the year has been uneven rather than one-way. Her fund’s NAV reflects every buyer and seller in the market, not only foreign funds. Our earlier piece on whether to stop a SIP in a falling market covers that decision in detail.

Still open:

• NSDL has not yet reported trades made on 1 October; that figure will appear when the report updates on Monday, 5 October.
• No official breakdown of September’s selling by sector or by stock has been published by NSDL.
• Whether the RBI’s policy decision on 7 October changes foreign investors’ view of the rupee is not something the data can show yet.

The two things to watch this week are NSDL’s Monday update, which will show whether the October selling continued after the holiday, and the rupee’s level around the RBI policy announcement on Wednesday.

FAQs

Why do different reports give different September FPI figures?

NSDL books each day’s trades on the next business day. Trades made on 30 September therefore appear in its October column, so the September row shows ₹35,861 crore, while trade-date counts that add 30 September come to about ₹45,000–46,000 crore.

Is 2026 the worst year for FPI selling?

The Times of India, citing NSDL, reported that 2026’s net equity selling of about ₹2.6–2.7 lakh crore is the highest annual figure on record. NSDL’s own table shows a 2026 total of ₹2,69,534 crore to 1 October.

Where can I check FPI flows myself?

NSDL publishes daily and monthly FPI investment data free on its FPI Monitor website, fpi.nsdl.co.in. The calendar-year report lists equity, debt and other segments month by month.

Do FPI outflows affect bank FDs?

Not directly. FD rates are set by banks based on their funding needs and the RBI’s policy rate. Foreign selling of shares does not change the rate on an FD already booked.

Disclaimer: This article reports NSDL depository data and published news reports as of 4 October 2026. It is not investment advice; past fund flows do not predict market returns.