Rs 65,400 crore bets: Top 10 MF buys in March dominated by battered stocks

Top 10 stocks bought by mutual funds (MF) in March were largely beaten-down names, with six from the banking and financial space, data from PRIME database suggested. HDFC Bank Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd led MF buying during the month. Overall, these 10 stocks attracted Rs 65,394.83 crore in domestic fund inflows.

MFs bought Rs 17,250.44 crore worth HDFC Bank shares as the scrip tumbled 18 per cent for the month amid surprise exit by part-time Chairman.  Bharti Airtel Ltd, whose shares fell 5 per cent for the month, attracted Rs 14,838.46 crore MF inflows, data showed. 

Battered shares of ICICI Bank Ltd (down 12 per cent), State Bank of India (down 18.48 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 14.95 per cent) and Axis Bank (down 16.03 per cent) also attracted MF inflows. 
ICICI Bank saw Rs 7,320.19 crore in MF buying, followed by SBI at Rs 5,450 crore, KMB at Rs 4,089 crore and Axis Bank at Rs 3,891.90 crore.

Shriram Finance Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, Infosys Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd saw Rs 2,400-3,300 crore in MF buying. 

To recall, equity-oriented mutual funds recorded strong net inflows of Rs 40,500-odd crore in March, up 56 per cent from about Rs 26,000-odd crore in February. This marked the highest inflow in the past eight months, just below the peak of Rs 42,700 crore seen in July 2025, Nuvama noted.

"The surge highlights a clear maturity in retail and HNI behavior —FII-led extreme sell-offs (this time driven by geopolitical tensions) are increasingly being used as buying opportunities. A consistent pattern is emerging: domestic investors( retail /HNI) deploy during sharp market weakness and book profits during phases of excessive strength, reflecting a more disciplined and counter-cyclical approach," Abhilash Pagaria, Head of Nuvama Alternative & Quant said in a note.

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. 

"Despite the challenges, investors continued to park their money in mutual funds. Notably, inflows and contributions in systematic investment plans (SIPs) reached a new high of Rs 32,090 crore in March 2026 (up 7.5 per cent MoM and 23.8 per cent YoY)," MOFSL said.