FII data shows how much foreign institutional investors bought and sold in Indian shares each trading day, and the net figure tells you whether overseas money came into the market or left it. Exchanges and depositories publish it after the close. This guide explains the columns, a simple reading method, a worked example with made-up numbers, and a dated table for the first week of November 2026.
Key Takeaways
- FII data lists the buying, selling and net trading of foreign institutions in the cash market, in rupees crore.
- A positive net figure means net buying and a negative net figure means net selling.
- NSE provisional figures usually appear after 6 PM IST on trading days, so they are an end-of-day record and never live.
- Read the numbers next to DII figures and the index move, never on their own.
- Treat the flows as context for a trend, not as a signal to buy or sell.
- What Is FII Data?
- Why FII Data Matters for Indian Investors
- Where to Find FII Data and When It Is Published
- How to Read FII Data: Buy, Sell and Net
- Worked Example: Reading a Week of FII Data
- Latest FII Data: First Week of November 2026
- Common Mistakes When Reading FII Data
- Pros and Cons of FII Data
- FAQ
- The Bottom Line
What Is FII Data?
FII stands for Foreign Institutional Investor. These are overseas organisations such as global mutual funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurers and asset managers that put money into Indian shares and bonds. Since around 2014, the formal regulatory term in India has been FPI, short for Foreign Portfolio Investor, while the market still says FII in daily talk. FII data is the record of what this group bought and sold. It is a total for the whole group and not a list of single funds.
Because these funds manage very large pools of money, a few days of heavy buying or selling can move prices, the rupee and market mood. That is why traders check the figure every evening. For the domestic side of the same trade, read our guide to DII data and how to read buy, sell and net figures, and see the difference between FII and DII for a side-by-side view.
Who Is Counted in FII Data?
Foreign portfolio investors register with SEBI and trade through custodians in India. Four broad groups make up most of the category. Each gets its money from a different source, which helps explain why their behaviour differs from week to week.
| Group | Where the money comes from | Usual behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Global mutual and index funds | Savings of overseas investors | Follow benchmarks, so flows move with global fund inflows and outflows |
| Sovereign wealth and pension funds | Government surpluses and retirement contributions | Long horizon, slow changes in country allocation |
| Hedge funds and asset managers | Client money and own capital | Shorter horizon, can reverse positions quickly |
| Foreign insurers and banks | Premiums, deposits and own funds | Put part of their money in emerging market equity |
Does FII Data Include FPIs?
In practice, yes. Reports often label this group FII, FPI or FII/FPI, and for the purpose of reading daily flows the names point to the same set of foreign portfolio investors. Always check the label on the report you use, because column names and layout may vary.
Why FII Data Matters for Indian Investors
Foreign money reacts to global events such as US interest rates, the dollar and returns in other emerging markets. Domestic institutions answer to Indian savers instead. Looking at both sides of the trade gives a fuller picture of who is driving a day, a week or a month.
- Liquidity clue: steady foreign buying adds demand for large, liquid shares and can support index levels.
- Currency link: heavy foreign selling is often, though not always, seen together with a weaker rupee.
- Trend context: a run of net selling days or net buying days shows how global investors view India relative to other markets.
- Ownership shift: NSE ownership data cited in our earlier guide showed FPIs holding 15.1% of NSE-listed companies in June 2026, against 19.5% for domestic institutions.
For a plain-language explanation of what a run of foreign selling can signal, see what FII selling means, and for the year-long contest between the two groups, open our tracker on FII selling vs DII buying in 2026. Next, let us see where the figures are published.
Where to Find FII Data and When It Is Published
The NSE India website carries a provisional report of FII and DII trading activity in the cash market. At the time of writing it sits under the Reports section, and menu names can change, so check the official site for the current path. The figures are normally posted after 6 PM IST on trading days. The exchange numbers are provisional, so they may differ slightly from final data.
The depository NSDL publishes a separate daily report on FPI investments. When we opened it, the page showed Daily Trends in FPI Investments and Daily Trends in FPI Derivative Trades, with debt, equity and hybrid categories split by route (stock exchange, and primary market and others). Amounts are shown in rupees crore and in US dollar million. See the NSDL FPI reports page for the latest layout.
If you want the numbers already arranged for you, our FII and DII data home page and the monthly FII DII figures page present them in one place.
Why Two Sources Can Show Different Numbers
NSDL explains that stock exchanges compile provisional trade data on the trade day from trading member information, while confirmed data comes from custodian reports and covers trades up to the previous trading days. Because of this timing gap, an exchange figure and a depository figure for the same day may not match. Use one source consistently when you compare days.
How to Read FII Data: Buy, Sell and Net
The headline number is the net value. It tells you whether the group bought more than it sold. Use these six steps whenever you open the report.
- Note the buy value and the sell value. Large values on both sides mean heavy turnover, even if the net is small.
- Work out the net. Subtract the sell value from the buy value.
- Compare with the DII net for the same day. The two groups often lean in opposite directions.
- Look at a five-day and a monthly total. One day is noisy, a trend is more useful.
- Check what the index did. Net buying with a falling index means selling elsewhere was heavier.
- Read the context. Global news, currency moves and results season can explain a swing.
The Net Value Formula for FII Data
The formula has one line: Net value = Buy value − Sell value. Suppose the buy value is ₹17,000 crore and the sell value is ₹14,200 crore. The net value is 17,000 − 14,200 = +₹2,800 crore, which means net buying. If the two numbers were swapped, the result would be −₹2,800 crore, which means net selling.
For a longer walk through using these numbers in a trading routine, read how to use FII DII data for trading. First, here is a full worked example.
Worked Example: Reading a Week of FII Data
All figures below are made up to show the method. They are not real market data. Suppose a trading week produced the following numbers, all in ₹ crore.
| Day | FII buy | FII sell | FII net | DII net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 18,400 | 15,900 | +2,500 | −900 |
| Tuesday | 16,200 | 17,900 | −1,700 | +1,200 |
| Wednesday | 15,100 | 16,600 | −1,500 | −1,400 |
| Thursday | 17,800 | 16,100 | +1,700 | −1,900 |
| Friday | 19,300 | 17,000 | +2,300 | +1,300 |
| Week | 86,800 | 83,500 | +3,300 | −1,700 |
Step 1: Add the Week
Total FII buying is 18,400 + 16,200 + 15,100 + 17,800 + 19,300 = ₹86,800 crore. Total selling is 15,900 + 17,900 + 16,600 + 16,100 + 17,000 = ₹83,500 crore. The weekly net is 86,800 − 83,500 = +₹3,300 crore. Check it against the daily nets: 2,500 − 1,700 − 1,500 + 1,700 + 2,300 = 3,300.
Step 2: Compare With the Domestic Side
The DII net over the week is −900 + 1,200 − 1,400 − 1,900 + 1,300 = −₹1,700 crore. The combined net of both groups is 3,300 − 1,700 = +₹1,600 crore. Foreign investors were net buyers and domestic institutions were net sellers, so the two groups were on opposite sides on three of the five days.
Step 3: Put the Net in Proportion
A net of ₹3,300 crore sounds large, but gross turnover was 86,800 + 83,500 = ₹170,300 crore. The net is 3,300 ÷ 170,300 × 100 = 1.94% of that turnover. Most of the activity was buying and selling that cancelled out, which is a useful reminder that net flow is only a small slice of the full picture.
Step 4: Draw a Cautious Reading
Tuesday and Wednesday show net foreign selling, yet the week ended in net buying. The data alone cannot say how the index moved, so you would add the Nifty close for each day. A fair summary is that foreign buying outweighed selling for the week, while domestic institutions trimmed positions.
Latest FII Data: First Week of November 2026
The table below shows provisional cash market figures for the five trading sessions from 2 to 6 November 2026, as compiled by a third-party data site from exchange reports. Treat it as an illustration of how to read the columns and check the official NSE report before relying on any number.
| Date | FII net (₹ crore) | DII net (₹ crore) | Combined (₹ crore) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 2026 | +3,114.68 | −392.20 | +2,722.48 |
| 3 Nov 2026 | +6,836.81 | −3,678.85 | +3,157.96 |
| 4 Nov 2026 | +7,284.03 | −3,712.23 | +3,571.80 |
| 5 Nov 2026 | +14,974.68 | −10,444.54 | +4,530.14 |
| 6 Nov 2026 | +13,749.82 | −5,968.70 | +7,781.12 |
| 5 sessions | +45,960.02 | −24,196.52 | +21,763.50 |
Over these five sessions, foreign investors were net buyers every day, with the largest net purchase on 5 November. Domestic institutions were net sellers every day. Their combined net selling of ₹24,196.52 crore equals 52.6% of the foreign net buying (24,196.52 ÷ 45,960.02 × 100), so DIIs sold roughly half of what FIIs bought. The combined net stayed positive because foreign buying was larger.
A single week does not make a trend. Compare these sessions with earlier months before drawing any conclusion. Now, a look at the errors that trip up most readers.
Common Mistakes When Reading FII Data
- Treating net buying as a promise of higher prices. Prices depend on every buyer and seller, not only on foreign investors.
- Reading net selling as a crash signal. Foreign funds also sell to rebalance, book profit or meet redemptions abroad.
- Judging one day. A single figure is noise. Look at the weekly and monthly trend.
- Ignoring the derivative side. The cash report does not show futures and options positions, which tell a different story.
- Expecting intraday updates. The report is an end-of-day record published after the close, so it is never live.
Pros and Cons of FII Data
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free and published after every trading day | Available only after the close, so it is always a day behind the action |
| Shows whether foreign money is supporting or leaving the market | Group totals hide which funds or sectors made the trades |
| Easy to calculate with one subtraction | Provisional figures can differ from final settlement numbers |
| Works well beside DII data to show who took the other side | Cash market figures do not cover futures and options positions |
| Helps you spot multi-week trends in global risk appetite | Does not say why funds traded, or what happens next |
FAQ
What is FII data?
FII data is the daily record of what foreign institutional investors, now formally called FPIs, bought and sold in the Indian market. It shows buy value, sell value and net value in rupees crore.
Where can I check FII data?
The NSE website publishes a provisional FII and DII trading activity report, and NSDL publishes daily FPI investment trends. You can also see the figures arranged by day and month on FIIAndDIIData.com. Menu paths on official sites may change, so check the site itself.
When is FII data published?
NSE provisional figures are normally posted after 6 PM IST on trading days. NSDL data is based on custodian reports and can arrive later, so the two may differ slightly.
Does net FII buying mean the market will rise?
No. Net buying shows what foreign institutions did that day. Prices depend on all buyers and sellers, so the index can fall even when FIIs buy.
How is FII data different from DII data?
FII data covers foreign investors, while DII data covers Indian institutions such as mutual funds, insurers and banks. The two often move in opposite directions, so they are best read together.
The Bottom Line
FII data is a free and simple way to see what foreign institutions did in the Indian market each day. The skill is in the reading: use the net value, compare it with the DII figure, look at the weekly trend and check what the index did. Remember that the report is an end-of-day record and that the cash market numbers leave out futures and options.
Your next step: for the next ten trading days, log the buy, sell and net values in a notebook and note the Nifty close beside each one. That small habit will teach you more about FII data than any single headline. For more explainers, browse our blog guides.
Sources: NSE India (FII and DII trading activity report); NSDL FPI Monitor; SEBI; Tapetide FII and DII flows report for November 2026; NSE ownership data for June 2026 as cited in our earlier guide. Always check the official sites for the latest figures.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. All figures in the worked example are hypothetical. Please consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making investment decisions.
