Foreign Portfolio Investors and Foreign Institutional Investors (FPIs/FIIs) continued their selling streak on Monday, December 8, net selling Indian equities worth Rs 656 crore, according to exchange data. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) provided strong support to the market by purchasing shares worth Rs 2,549 crore.

Gross figures showed that FPIs bought shares worth Rs 12,500 crore while selling slightly higher at Rs 13,556 crore. DIIs, on the other hand, recorded purchases of Rs 16,883 crore against sales of Rs 14,341 crore during the session.

On a year-to-date basis, FPIs remain heavy net sellers, having offloaded Indian equities worth Rs 2.68 lakh crore so far in 2025. In contrast, DIIs have significantly cushioned the market with cumulative net buying of Rs 7.27 lakh crore during the year.

Indian benchmark indices ended the session with sharp losses. The Sensex fell over 610 points to close at 85,103, down 0.7%, while the Nifty50 dropped 226 points to settle at 25,961, down 0.9%. The market-wide sell-off was triggered by cautious sentiment ahead of the upcoming policy decision by the US Federal Reserve, persistent FII selling, and widespread profit booking across broader market segments.

Broader indices underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap index declining 1.8% and the Nifty Smallcap index tumbling 2.6%. Sectorally, all indices ended in negative territory. Nifty Realty emerged as the worst hit, falling 3.5%, followed by Nifty PSU Bank, which declined 2.8%. The Nifty IT index showed relative resilience with a marginal loss of 0.3%.

Commenting on the day’s market performance, Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said primary markets remain active, with allotments for the Meesho, Vidya Wires, and Aequs IPOs expected to be announced shortly. He also highlighted that four new IPOs, including the Rs 10,600 crore ICICI Prudential AMC issue, are lined up for subscription this week.

Khemka added that India and Russia recently signed 16 agreements across defence, trade, economy, and healthcare at the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit in New Delhi, providing a positive backdrop for bilateral trade. However, he cautioned that markets are likely to remain volatile ahead of the US Fed policy outcome, with global interest-rate guidance, INR-USD movements, FII flow trends, and liquidity conditions in the secondary market expected to influence near-term sentiment.