FPIs to decide sensex direction

MUMBAI: Trading pattern of foreign funds, tariff-related developments, quarterly results by leading Indian companies, trends in the US markets, and the IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington DC will decide Dalal Street’s direction this week.

During last week’s holiday shortened three-session trading window, foreign funds net pumped in over Rs 15,000 crore into Indian stocks, a trend that some market players termed as ‘revenge buying’. So far in 2025, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were mostly bearish on the Indian market. As a result, this influential trading group took out nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore from Indian stocks alone.

According to Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments, India emerged as the first major market to fully recover from the losses triggered by the US tariff announcements earlier this month. “Investor sentiment was buoyed by expectations that the US-China trade dispute may not harm, but rather benefit, India. At present, the domestic macroeconomic environment remains supportive, encouraging investors to increase their exposure to riskier assets for the long term. Additionally, the inflation outlook appears favourable, reinforced by forecasts of an above-normal monsoon and a decline in oil prices,” he said.

Market players would also look at Jan-March results by blue-chip companies like HUL, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, and Tech Mahindra. About 100 companies are set to announce their results, which are expected to prompt stock-specific movement, market players said.

The Spring meeting of the World Bank and the IMF is scheduled in the US between April 21 and April 26. The meeting this year has added significance because of the ensuing trade war between the US and its trade partners. Market players would be eagerly waiting to know what the WB-IMF’s role would be in a changing global trade dynamic, news reports said.