FII selloff in IT stocks tops Rs 16,500 cr in Q1. Time to buy or bail?

In a striking contrast between market sentiment and actual performance, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) emerged as net sellers in the Information Technology (IT) sector during Q1FY26, offloading shares worth Rs 16,483 crore. Surprisingly, this significant outflow didn’t weigh down the broader BSE IT index, which instead rose by 5.5% during the quarter. The strength in the index was primarily driven by midcap and smallcap IT firms, several of which delivered robust double-digit gains despite persistent FPI selling pressure.