Foreign investors have withdrawn 52,704 crore rupees from Indian equities in the first two weeks of March as geopolitical tensions and the economic impact of rising crude oil prices weighed on sentiment.

As per the depositories’ data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), also pulled out 889 crore rupees from the Indian debt markets. This brings the net outflow from the Indian capital market to 60,269 crore rupees during the period under review.

The sell-off marks a sharp reversal after strong inflows in February, when FPIs had infused 22,615 crore rupees into the Indian equities, the highest monthly inflow in 17 months.

Before that, FPIs had been net sellers of shares for three consecutive months, withdrawing 35,962 crore rupees in January, 22,611 crore rupees in December, and 3,765 crore rupees in November last year.