Jio Financial, RIL, HDFC Bank: Mutual funds lapped up Rs 18K cr worth 10 stocks in March

HDFC Bank Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, Eternal Ltd (Zomato) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were among 10 stocks that mutual funds bought with both hands in the March rebound. The BSE Sensex was up 4,216.82 points or 5.76 per cent for the month, after plunging 5.55 per cent in February, despite concerns over the looming US tariffs.

Data showed fund managers bought just over Rs 18,000 crore worth 10 shares that included Jio Financial Services Ltd, Bajaj Finserv and Max Financial.  HDFC Bank led the buying activity, with mutual funds purchasing 1.9 crore shares worth Rs 3,400 crore. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) followed, with 2.4 crore shares acquired, amounting to Rs 3,000 crore. In Eternal Ltd (Zomato), mutual funds picked up 13.7 crore shares worth Rs 2,800 crore. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Jio Financial Services (JFS) also attracted Rs 1,600 crore each in MF investments.

Other notable buys included Bajaj Finserv (Rs 1,300 crore) and Max Financial Services (Rs 1,200 crore). Additionally, Tata Consumer Products, Hitachi Energy, and Tech Mahindra each saw mutual fund inflows exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, reflecting broad-based institutional interest across sectors.

On the flipside, stocks such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Sun Pharma saw huge MF selling. Kotak Mahindra Bank saw Rs 3,900 crore worth MF selling. It was followed by Bharti Airtel (Rs 2,900 crore), Aavas Fin (Rs 2,300 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 2,300 crore) and L&T (Rs 1,500 crore).

For the month, mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 11,400 crore. FIIs were also buyers for the month to the tune of Rs 200 crore in Indian secondary market.

In terms of m-cap, strong buying was seen in HDFC Bank, TCS, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cements and Mahindra & Mahindra. Key reductions were Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Bharat Electron and Punjab National Bank.

In the midcap space, key additions included AU Small Finance, Max Financial, L&T Finance, Central Bank Of India and Escorts Kubota. Key reductions were 360 One Wam, Cochin Shipyard, Motilal Oswal Financial, ACC and Cholamandalam Fin.

Small cap MF buying was seen in NMDC Steel, JP Power Ventures, Railtel, Sonata Software and Intellect Design. Key reductions included AMI Organics, Quess Corp, Sapphire Foods, Inox India and PVR Inox.