Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: Inflows into India's equity mutual funds moderated in July to Rs 371.13 billion ($4.42 billion), easing off record high levels hit in the previous month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Friday.
The 9 per cent drop in July from the previous month was due to profit booking at record high levels, analysts said.
Inflows in July are the second highest on record and positive for domestic equities from a liquidity perspective, said Venkat Chalasani, CEO of AMFI.
Inflows into large-cap mutual funds moderated 31per cent to Rs 6.7 billion.
Inflows into mid-caps fell 35 per cent to Rs 16.44 billion, while small-cap equity mutual fund inflows were little changed at Rs 21.09 billion in July.
Multi-cap or diversified equity funds, which invest across different stocks to minimise the risk of exposure to a few stocks, reported a 50.5 per cent jump in inflows to Rs 70.85 billion.
Sectoral or thematic funds saw the highest inflows among equity mutual fund schemes for the fourth straight month at Rs 224.52 billion, about 50 per cent of total inflows into equity-oriented schemes.
"The high inflows into sectoral funds could be attributed to new fund offer (NFO) listing. Most of the lumpsum purchase seem to be through the NFO route," said Manish Mehta, national head of sales, marketing and digital at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management.
Two new fund offers in July garnered inflows of Rs 97.90 billion, according to AMFI.
Equity mutual funds reported net inflows aggregating to Rs 6.36 trillion from domestic investors since February 2021, well above net foreign inflows of Rs 657.26 billion into mutual funds over the same period.
Indian mutual funds have reported inflows every month since February 2021.
The country's benchmark NSE Nifty 50 has risen about 72 per cent over the last 41 months.
Contributions to systematic investment plans (SIPs) touched a record high of Rs 233.22 billion in July, hitting an all-time high for the thirteenth consecutive month.
($1 = 83.8900 Indian rupees)