hdfc bank

The calendar year 2025 is proving to be challenging for the Indian stock market. So far this year, foreign institutional investors i.e. FIIs have sold heavily. Continuous selling for 8 months out of 12 months not only kept the stock market under pressure, but also took the Indian rupee to historic lows. But meanwhile, foreign investors have also invested a lot of money in companies like HDFC and ITC. Let us understand about them in detail.

On year-to-date (YTD) basis, FIIs have sold Indian shares worth about $18.3 billion. This is considered to be the worst year of foreign investment withdrawal so far. Its direct impact was that the performance of Indian markets was much weaker than that of other emerging countries.

Why did the Indian market weaken?

According to global brokerage firm Jefferies, the Indian stock market is set to record its worst relative performance against emerging markets in nearly three decades in 2025. The effect of this selling was clearly visible on the rupee also. The rupee slipped beyond 91 against the dollar, which is its lowest level till date, but the surprising thing is that despite such a selloff, many big foreign investors are still making heavy investments in some selected Indian companies.

First choice of foreign investors

If we talk about the most favorite Indian company of foreign investors, then HDFC Bank is clearly at the forefront. Many of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds and global investment institutions have invested billions of rupees in this private bank. The Government of Singapore and the Government Pension Fund Global of Norway are both major shareholders of HDFC Bank. For foreign investors, this bank remains a symbol of strong balance sheet, stable profits and trustworthy management.

Trust on ITC and FMCG sector

The interest of foreign investors is not limited to banking only. Heavy investment is also seen in FMCG giants like ITC. Rajeev Jain-led GQG Partners has made ITC an important part of its portfolio. Companies with stable growth in the long run, strong brands and consistently paying dividends attract foreign investors and ITC fully meets this criterion.

Bets in tech, health and consumer stocks also

Apart from HDFC Bank and ITC, foreign investors have also made big investments in stocks like Infosys, Max Healthcare, Havells, SRF and AU Small Finance Bank. Names like Vanguard, Capital Group, Nalanda Capital and Amansa Holdings are seen active in these sectors. This makes it clear that FIIs are not going out of India completely, rather they want to keep their money invested only in selected strong companies.

What signals for investors?

Even though the selling by foreign investors has created an atmosphere of fear in the market, their top holdings indicate that their faith in strong Indian companies is still intact. It is important for common investors to understand which stocks the big players are holding even in the downturn.