Equity mutual fund flows moderate in July, Maruti Suzuki on the top

Equity mutual funds (MFs) applied brakes to buying stocks in July even as the benchmark indices rallied 9 per cent. They invested just Rs 4,712 crore into stocks last month compared to Rs 22,051 crore in June and Rs 28,248 crore in May.

The moderation in MF investments comes amid a revival in foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows. In July, FPI flows turned positive — albeit marginally -- after a gap of 11 months. Typically, MFs step up buying when FPIs sell and go slow when FPIs buy.

Maruti Suzuki attracted the highest MF flows, at Rs 1,342 crore, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 822 crore). On the other hand, HDFC (net outflows of Rs 1,245 crore) and ITC (-Rs 873 crore) were the most-sold stocks.

In the mid-cap space, the most-bought stocks were Zomato (Rs 502 crore) and Gland Pharma (Rs 452 crore), while the most-sold were Polycab India (Rs 272 crore) and PVR (Rs 175 crore). Meanwhile, Sapphire Foods (Rs 302 crore) and Granules India (Rs 168 crore) saw highest MF inflows among small-caps, while Birlasoft (Rs 90 crore) and Metropolis Health (Rs 73 crore) saw the highest outflows.