Reserve Bank of India Repo Rate Hike Coincides with ₹12,944 Crore Foreign Selling

repo rate hiked by RBI to 5.50% as Net Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) sold Rs 12,944m to Indian equities on October 8th, second largest single day outflow in 2026. Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought Rs 10,703m but the broader market ended on a negative note.

₹12,944 crore foreign outflow follows five-session October total

Foreign institutional investors (FII) were net sellers of Indian equities to the tune of ₹12,944 crore on October 8. The amount of sale on this day was less than ₹21,106 crore sold on May 29 which remains the biggest single day outflow of 2026 as per available data.

Foreign institutional outflows for October reached ₹37,929 crore after five trading sessions. Net selling by these investors during 2026 crossed ₹4.41 lakh crore.

Domestic institutional investors bought ₹10,703 crore of equities on October 8. Their purchases during the first five trading sessions of October totalled ₹35,613 crore.

Midcap and smallcap indices fall more than 2.0%

Sensex ended down 1.4% or 1,045.46 points at 71,593.24 on October 8. The Nifty sank 1.6% or 371.25 points to 22,231.80.

The Nifty touched 22,179.90 during the session, below its previous 52-week low of 22,182.55. The Nifty midcap and smallcap indices each declined more than 2.0%.

All sector indices ended on the down side. The biggest falls were seen in the Metal & Realty sector, but declines of between 2.0% and 3.0% were seen in sectors including Auto, Energy, FMCG, Infrastructure, Media, Oil & Gas and Pharma.

More than 300 stocks hit new 52-week lows. Stocks featured in this list include Suzlon Energy, Vedanta Aluminium, Indian Oil Corporation and Muthoot Finance.

RBI raises repo rate to 5.50%

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, hiked the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% in a calibrated manner to tighten, as it announced the rate decision on the same day as markets plummeted sharply on October 8.

BSE listed companies’ Market Capitalisation sank by over ₹12 lakh crores in two days of trading and currently stands at ₹460.97 lakh crores. Brent crude price was ruling at $104/m.T at the time of writing as the rupee continued to plummet on the third straight day of decline and was trading at 96.78 against dollar in the late trades.

Disclaimer: This article has been written exclusively for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Investments in securities are subject to market risks; please read all scheme/offer documents carefully and consult a SEBI-registered advisor before investing.