Data show DII holdings rose 170 basis points year-on-year and 30 basis points sequentially, while FII ownership declined 90 basis points YoY and 20 basis points QoQ to 24.3%. The divergence is also visible at the stock level. On a yearly basis, DIIs increased their stakes in 41 of the 50 Nifty companies, whereas FIIs reduced holdings in 39. The trend held on a quarterly basis as well, with DIIs raising stakes in 35 companies while FIIs cut positions in 33, Motilal Oswal said in a note.
Some of the sharpest increases in DII ownership, exceeding 4 percentage points YoY, were seen in Eternal, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Interglobe Aviation, Trent, Max Healthcare, Shriram Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and Tata Consumer. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel, Eicher Motors, Grasim, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro and Interglobe Aviation were among stocks where FIIs increased holdings on a yearly basis.
The shift is mirrored at the broader sector level within the Nifty-500 universe. DIIs expanded holdings across 22 of 24 sectors, with the highest exposure to private banks at 34.7%, followed by consumer, consumer durables, NBFC non-lending and oil & gas. They also boosted stakes in private banks and PSU banks by 240 basis points each YoY, alongside notable increases in EMS, technology, telecom, retail and healthcare, the report added.
FIIs, in contrast, reduced holdings in 15 of the 24 sectors. Their largest exposures remained in private banks at 45.7%, telecom, real estate, automobiles, healthcare, NBFC non-lending, technology, oil & gas and consumer durables. However, FIIs did raise stakes in select pockets such as telecom, chemicals, insurance and PSU banks on a yearly basis.
Across market capitalisation segments, FIIs pared back stakes YoY in large, mid and smallcaps by 70 basis points, 50 basis points and 70 basis points respectively. Sequentially, they increased exposure only in midcaps by 30 basis points, while trimming smallcaps and leaving largecap exposure unchanged. DIIs, on the other hand, expanded their ownership across all market caps—up 170, 290 and 200 basis points YoY in large, mid and smallcaps respectively, with additional quarterly increases across the board.
Promoter holdings, which have historically remained range-bound, declined sharply to an all-time low of 48.8% as of December 2025, down 90 basis points year-on-year and 50 basis points sequentially.The fall was largely driven by a revival in primary market activity over the past three quarters, with elevated valuations and strong investor appetite prompting several promoters to pare their stakes.
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