The NRIs were net sellers of shares worth close to Rs 23 crore (Rs 230 million) on January 14, the first day of seven-day downslide that continued till January 22, according to data with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The benchmark Sensex dropped 100 points on January 14 and fell further 476 points on the next day, when the NRIs were net sellers of shares worth about Rs 4 crore (Rs 40 million).

During the next four trading sessions, when the Sensex was continuing its downslide including its largest one-day fall of 1,408 points on January 21, NRIs were seen bottom-fishing by purchasing shares at the lower levels.

On all these four days, NRIs were net buyer of shares, although in smaller quantities ranging from Rs 1-5 crore (Rs 10-50 million) each.

They were net seller of Rs 2.2 crore (Rs 22 million) on January 22, when the Sensex had fallen by 875 points. On that day, the Sensex had lost more than 2,200 points in the intra-day trade, but later staged a smart recovery of over 1,300 points from the lows, prompting net sales by the NRIs.

On the very next day, January 23, when signs of recovery became further clearer, NRIs again invested over Rs 11 crore (Rs 110 million)  in the market. The Sensex rose by 864 points that day.

In the seven trading sessions between January 14-22, the Sensex lost close to 4,100 points. During this period, NRIs dumped shares worth about Rs 29 crore (Rs 290 million) at higher levels, while they pumped in Rs 22 crore (Rs 220 million) by purchases at lower levels.

NRI's investment pattern was in sharp contrast to FIIs, who were net seller of shares worth Rs 10,503.6 crore (Rs 105.03 billion) from January 17-23, but made a net purchase of about Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) between January 14-16.

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