ET Intelligence Group: The relentless flow of IPOs in September kept FPIs busy buying in the Indian primary market even as they accelerated selling in listed equities. They invested $1 billion (₹9,676 crore) in the primary market while offloading $4.8 billion (₹45,537 crore) worth of equities in the secondary market during the month, the highest since April 2026 when the outflow was $6.7 billion (₹63,167 crore).
Of the 96 IPOs in 2026 so far, 34 were hosted in September alone. It implies that one out of every three IPOs this year so far was crammed in a single month as IPO-bound companies scrambled to dodge the requirement of filing audited financials for the current fiscal year's recent quarters.
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It also means the pace of primary market offerings may cool off in October since companies would take time to gather audited financial data for the June and subsequent quarters in the current fiscal year. Still, the expected launch of the Jio Platforms IPO in the second half of October may offer some support to the primary market investments given its anticipated size of over ₹35,000 crore-40,000 crore.
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FPIs have invested $5.9 billion in the primary market while selling $33.7 billion worth of equities in the secondary market in 2026 till the end of September. This compares with a net inflow of $5 billion in the primary market and an outflow of $22.7 billion from the secondary market in the corresponding period of the previous year. It means they continue to show interest in new equity papers while offloading their stakes in listed counters. Primary markets offer an opportunity to buy into businesses with strong growth potential, usually at a discount to the valuations of existing listed peers. Also, it does not involve the impact of bulk deals on stock prices as in the secondary market.
