Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pared their stake in BSE-200 firms to $305 billion during October-December quarter, with heavy selling in technology, consumers and pharmaceuticals sectors.

FPI ownership in the BSE-200 index stood at $337 billion during the September quarter, according to Kotak Institutional Equities report.

In percentage terms, FPI holding (including American Depository Receipts or ADRs and Global Depository Receipts or GDRs) in the index marginally dropped to 24.2 per cent in the three months ended December 31, 2016 against 25 per cent in the preceding quarter.

A sector-wise analysis shows that FPIs sold in technology, consumers and pharmaceuticals and invested in energy.

“In December 2016 quarter, FPIs sold equities worth Rs 307 billion, the highest ever in a quarter,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors’ (DIIs) holdings in BSE-200 companies increased to 11.8 per cent in the December quarter from 11.3 per cent at the end of the previous three-month period.

DIIs, led by mutual funds, have invested heavily in the market. They primarily invested in banking, technology and pharmaceuticals sectors.

During the quarter under review, maximum stake reduction by FPIs was in Tech Mahindra by 4.7 percentage points followed by Bharat Financial Inclusion (4.3 per cent) and NCC (4.1 per cent).

Overseas investors also trimmed their holdings in Tata Motors, Engineers India, Aurobindo Pharma, India Cements, Ambuja Cements, Titan Company, TeamLease Services, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Reliance Capital.

On the other hand, Manpasand Beverages saw a substantial increase in FPI holdings — 8.1 percentage points, followed by LIC Housing Finance (5.3 per cent) and MCX India (4.5 per cent).