Suzlon, YES Bank, Tata Motors PV, Reliance Power, IRFC: MFs lap up 7 of top 10 retail favs in March
HDFC Bank Ltd, Tata Power Ltd, YES Bank Ltd, Suzlon Energy Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles ltd, Indian Railway Finance Corp Ltd and Reliance Power saw MF buying in March.
- Apr 16, 2026,
- Updated Apr 16, 2026 12:33 PM IST
Mutual funds (MFs) were seen buying seven of the top 10 retail-favourite stocks in a challenging March, which saw the West Asia crisis escalate and oil prices surge, with domestic markets witnessing their sharpest monthly fall since March 2020. As per PRIME Database figures, collated by Business Today, HDFC Bank Ltd, Tata Power Ltd, YES Bank Ltd, Suzlon Energy Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles ltd, Indian Railway Finance Corp Ltd (RIL) and Reliance Power Ltd saw MF buying in March. Vodafone Idea Ltd, Tata Steel and Jio Financial were three stocks they sold in the month. There are 41-65 lakh retail investors invested in each of 10 names.
The 10 stocks witnessed a net MF buying of Rs 17,565.87 crore, largely led by funds focus on HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank, which had 41.06 lakh retail investors at the end of March quarter, attracted Rs 17,250.44 crore in MF flows for the month. It was followed by Tata Power, which attracted Rs 442 crore in MF flows. A total of Rs 41.77 lakh small investors were invested in Tata Power at the end of December quarter, data available with corporate database AceEquity suggests.
YES Bank, which had 60.13 lakh retail investors at the end of December quarter, saw MFs buying Rs 378.87 crore worth shares. Suzlon Energy, a retail favourite, saw Rs 221.64 crore in MF buying in March.Tata Motors PV also witnessed Rs 156 crore worth MF buying for the month. IRFC and Reliance Power did see some MF buying, but negligible.
Meanwhile, MFs sold Rs 423 crore worth Vodafone Idea shares (VIL). They also sold Rs 400 crore worth Tata Steel shares and Rs 106 crore worth Jio Financial shares.
March was the fourth straight month of Nifty fall. The index slid 11.3 per cent for the period, thanks to geopolitical tensions in the West Asia. The index oscillated 2,706 points before closing at 2,847 points or 11.3 per cent lower at 22,331 – the steepest MoM decline since March 2020. Eyes this month are on an end to the US-Iran conflict.
"We doubt if Iran or the US has much to gain from a prolonged conflict. A prolonged war may (1) further deepen the distrust between Iran and the US, (2) potentially drive Iran to pursue nuclear deterrence as a ‘safety’ guarantee, (3) increase economic hardships for US households through higher inflation and interest rates (see Exhibits 2-3), (4) reduce the appetite among other countries for US assets and debt and (5) further erode public support for the war in the US, with political ramifications in the mid-term polls in November 2026," Kotak Institutional Equities said.
Mutual funds (MFs) were seen buying seven of the top 10 retail-favourite stocks in a challenging March, which saw the West Asia crisis escalate and oil prices surge, with domestic markets witnessing their sharpest monthly fall since March 2020. As per PRIME Database figures, collated by Business Today, HDFC Bank Ltd, Tata Power Ltd, YES Bank Ltd, Suzlon Energy Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles ltd, Indian Railway Finance Corp Ltd (RIL) and Reliance Power Ltd saw MF buying in March. Vodafone Idea Ltd, Tata Steel and Jio Financial were three stocks they sold in the month. There are 41-65 lakh retail investors invested in each of 10 names.
The 10 stocks witnessed a net MF buying of Rs 17,565.87 crore, largely led by funds focus on HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank, which had 41.06 lakh retail investors at the end of March quarter, attracted Rs 17,250.44 crore in MF flows for the month. It was followed by Tata Power, which attracted Rs 442 crore in MF flows. A total of Rs 41.77 lakh small investors were invested in Tata Power at the end of December quarter, data available with corporate database AceEquity suggests.
YES Bank, which had 60.13 lakh retail investors at the end of December quarter, saw MFs buying Rs 378.87 crore worth shares. Suzlon Energy, a retail favourite, saw Rs 221.64 crore in MF buying in March.Tata Motors PV also witnessed Rs 156 crore worth MF buying for the month. IRFC and Reliance Power did see some MF buying, but negligible.
Meanwhile, MFs sold Rs 423 crore worth Vodafone Idea shares (VIL). They also sold Rs 400 crore worth Tata Steel shares and Rs 106 crore worth Jio Financial shares.
March was the fourth straight month of Nifty fall. The index slid 11.3 per cent for the period, thanks to geopolitical tensions in the West Asia. The index oscillated 2,706 points before closing at 2,847 points or 11.3 per cent lower at 22,331 – the steepest MoM decline since March 2020. Eyes this month are on an end to the US-Iran conflict.
"We doubt if Iran or the US has much to gain from a prolonged conflict. A prolonged war may (1) further deepen the distrust between Iran and the US, (2) potentially drive Iran to pursue nuclear deterrence as a ‘safety’ guarantee, (3) increase economic hardships for US households through higher inflation and interest rates (see Exhibits 2-3), (4) reduce the appetite among other countries for US assets and debt and (5) further erode public support for the war in the US, with political ramifications in the mid-term polls in November 2026," Kotak Institutional Equities said.