The equity participation of insurance companies surpassed investment by domestic mutual funds in January, for the third time in two years.
They invested $964 million (Rs 6,555 crore) in equities compared with $907 million (Rs 6,167 crore) by domestic mutual funds.
The combined infl ow of the domestic money offset the selling pressure by foreign portfolio investors, which sold $1.75 billion (Rs 11,954 crore) in January.
The benchmark Nifty dropped 4.5% in January. Insurance companies were net sellers of $558 million in 2015, while domestic funds were net buyers of $10.8 billion.
The general perception among market observers is that LIC becomes a big buyer when market becomes weak. This time, however, private insurance companies deployed more funds in equities.
