FIIs raise stakes in major IT firms in Q2 despite weak earnings outlook

Foreign investors increased their holdings in major information technology (IT) companies in India, such as Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro, in the September 2023 quarter, despite anticipated weak earnings. This is a shift from their previous trend of exiting IT firms due to a gloomy outlook.

In the second quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (Q2 FY24), foreign institutional investors (FIIs) increased their ownership in Infosys to 33.59 percent from 33.43 percent a quarter ago and at TCS to 12.47 percent from 12.46 percent over the same period, according to the latest shareholding pattern data on stock exchanges. Additionally, FIIs boosted their stakes in Tech Mahindra and Wipro, pushing up their ownership to 26.22 percent and 6.47 percent from 25.69 percent and 6.32 percent in the previous quarter, respectively.

After two consecutive quarters of decline, Infosys saw an increase in FII ownership. In contrast, TCS experienced an increase in FII ownership after 11 consecutive quarters of decline. Tech Mahindra also witnessed a rise in FII ownership after 10 consecutive quarters of reduction. FIIs have reduced their holdings in Wipro in seven out of nine quarters.

On the other hand, HCL Technologies and LTIMindtree saw a slight reduction in FII ownership, dropping to 18.8 percent and 8.11 percent from 18.98 percent and 8.21 percent, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. Moneycontrol