Mutual funds load up on IT, cut FMCG and telecom stakes in April: Report
Indian mutual funds turned buyers in the IT sector this April, even as foreign investors pulled out large sums. This came during a time of uncertainty caused by weak earnings and concerns over US growth due to tariff issues.According to Primedatabase data, mutual funds invested over Rs 9,599 crore in IT shares during the month. In contrast, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold more than Rs 15,000 crore worth of tech stocks, as per NSDL data.Unlike FIIs, mutual funds release detailed monthly reports showing exactly where they've put their money. This gives a clearer picture of stock-wise investments.Among IT companies, Infosys saw the highest interest from mutual funds, with fresh investments of Rs 3,011 crore. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Coforge followed, receiving Rs 2,375 crore and Rs 1,432 crore, respectively. Other major names that drew investment included HCL Technologies, Persistent Systems, Mphasis, LTIMindtree, Hexaware, and Cyient, with amounts ranging from Rs 170 crore to Rs 960 crore.However, mutual funds did sell shares of some tech firms. They reduced their holdings in Tech Mahindra by Rs 270 crore and also cut down on Birlasoft and Zaggle Prepaid, selling more than Rs 85 crore each. Smaller cuts were made in Oracle Financial Services, Affle, Neweb Technologies, and Inventurus Knowledge Solutions.Meanwhile, both mutual funds and FIIs put money into financial stocks. MFs invested Rs 4,450 crore in this space, while FIIs were even more bullish, pouring in Rs 18,409 crore.Kotak Mahindra Bank attracted the highest MF investment in the financial sector, with Rs 1,586 crore. IDFC First Bank and HDFC Bank followed, drawing Rs 1,150 crore and Rs 1,026 crore. Other financial names that saw increased MF holdings included Max Financial Services, Axis Bank, HDFC Life, RBL Bank, and Shriram Finance.On the other hand, mutual funds pulled money out of the telecom and FMCG sectors. They sold Rs 2,787 crore worth of telecom shares and Rs 2,211 crore in FMCG stocks. Interestingly, FIIs did the opposite, buying Rs 4,648 crore worth of telecom shares and Rs 2,917 crore in FMCG.Bharti Airtel saw the biggest MF exit in telecom, with Rs 2,499 crore worth of shares sold. Indus Towers and Bharti Hexacom followed with sell-offs of Rs 584 crore and Rs 173 crore.In FMCG, the biggest drop came in ITC, where MFs reduced holdings by Rs 2,779 crore. HUL and Marico also faced selling of Rs 596 crore and Rs 382 crore. Other FMCG companies that saw mutual fund exits included Nestle India, Tata Consumer Products, United Spirits, and Avanti Feeds.Must Watch
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