FIIs slash stake in 18 Sensex firms in sept quarter

MUMBAI: Foreign Institutional Investors have reduced their holdings by up to 3 per cent in 18 blue-chip firms, including ICICI, on the 30-share b

enchmark Sensex, in the September quarter this fiscal.

FIIs reduced their stake in country's leading private lender ICICI Bank to 36.44 per cent at the end of September quarter from 38.85 per cent in the previous quarter, according to latest shareholding information available on the bourses.

FIIs, which have sold equities worth over 11 billion dollar so far this year on Indian bourses, reduced their holdings in 18 Sensex companies by up to three per cent in the reviewed quarter.

"FIIs are on selling spree on Indian bourses as they have to shore up all funds for deploying in their home countries like US and Europe, which are suffering from severe credit crunch and not because they do not believe in the Indian growth story," an analyst from a leading brokerage firms said.

Steel major Tata Steel, Jaiprakash Associates and ICICI Bank saw the FII holdings in their stocks reduce by over two per cent in the September quarter.

Tata Steel's foreign institutional holdings reduced to 17.65 per cent in the three months ended September from 19.8 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal, while in Jaiprakash Associates their holding fell by 2.78 per cent to 21.66 per cent in the reviewed quarter.

Meanwhile in the same quarter, FIIs have increased their stakes marginally in eight Sensex companies including Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, Reliance Infrastructure, HDFC, state-run BHEL, Aditya Birla Group flagship Hindalco, realty major DLF and Larsen and Toubro.