HDFC Bank, Infosys, ITC shares: FPI favourites hit as 2026 outflows top Rs 2.5L cr mark

HDFC Bank Ltd, Infosys Ltd, ITC Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd were among foreign investors' favourite stocks that took a beating as outflows from India crossed the Rs 2.5-lakh crore mark in 2026 so far.

Data compiled from depository NSDL showed foreign outflows hit a record this year and were 50 per cent higher than Rs 1,66,286 crore FPI outflows seen in whole of Calendar 2025. None of FPIs top 10 holdings in India, in terms of market value, delivered positive return this year.

HDFC Bank, where foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) owned 41.82 per cent stake at the end of June quarter, valuing at Rs 4.66 lakh crore, saw its shares falling 27 per cent this year. FPI ownership in the most-valued private lender stood at 47.66 per cent at the end of December 2025 quarter, data compiled from corporate database AceEquity suggested.

ICICI Bank, FPIs' second largest holding at Rs 3.13 lakh crore (33.79 per cent stake), has fallen 3 per cent this year. FPIs held 43.87 per cent stake in ICICI Bank at the end of December quarter.

Bharti Airtel Ltd, FPIs' third largest holding has in fact fallen 15.88 per cent this year, FPIs held 26.48 per cent stake in the telecom operator as of June 30, owned Rs 2.93 lakh crore worth shares.  FPIs owned 28.75 per cent stake in Airtel at the end of December quarter.

Axis Bank Ltd, where FPI owned 1.5 lakh crore worth shares, fell 4.51 per cent while Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd where FPI exposure stood at Rs 1,27 lakh crore slumped 20 per cent.

ITC and Infosys Ltd plunged 34 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively, FPIs held Rs 1.11 lakh crore worth shares each in the two companies. Bajaj Finance Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd also fell up to 8 per cent during the period mentioned.

Kotak Institutional Equities said it is quite puzzled by the apathy to large-caps among investors.

Most large caps offer decent value after the sharp correction in their stock prices over the past few weeks or the large ‘time’ correction over the past few years, it said.

"We would attribute apathy among FPI investors to broader apathy for India, given (1) risks to India’s macro from high oil prices (see Exhibit 3) and (2) relative lower attractiveness of India versus other markets (see Exhibit 4). We attribute the apathy among domestic retail investors to their utter fascination with quick returns, with past returns their investment lodestar," it said.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments said the sharp correction in the market presents an opportunity. Large-caps with good growth prospects have reached attractive valuations, he said.

"This is a value buying opportunity. In segments like financials, particularly large banks, capital goods, telecom and automobiles, there are good buying opportunities. The risk-reward in market leaders in these segments is highly favourable for investment," he said.

Hitesh Tailor of Choice Broking said the market may attempt to stabilise after the recent decline, supported by buying emerging around key technical levels in both indices.

"However, persistent FII selling remains a concern and could restrict the recovery," he said.