Samir Arora’s Witty Wisdom: Shift Indian stock market hours to tackle FII sell-off

Indian stock market has been experiencing sustained selling pressure from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who offloaded more than ₹1 lakh crore in domestic equities during October alone. This significant outflow has drawn strong reactions from investors and analysts alike. 

Renowned fund manager and Helios Capital founder, Samir Arora, also commented on the situation, sharing a lighthearted suggestion on social media amid concerns about the impact of continued FII selling on the Indian stock market.

His humorous proposal: shift Indian market hours to open at 3:30 AM and close by 6:30 AM IST, a time window that could potentially deter FIIs from actively trading in the Indian stock market due to inconvenient time zones.

In his tweet, Arora pointed out that if the Indian stock market opens early in the morning, it would align with late evening in New York City, around 6 PM. According to Arora, this timing would ensure that most FIIs based in the United States, particularly on the East Coast, are already done for the day and would likely not want to extend their work hours.

By closing the market around 6:30 AM IST, Arora highlighted that it would also coincide with the Singapore markets opening, mitigating the impact of Asian trading activity and potentially reducing volatility driven by foreign investor sentiment.

Arora’s humorous remark follows notable gains in the Sensex and Nifty 50 during the Diwali Muhurat Trading session on November 1, which saw limited FII activity. The Sensex closed 335.06 points, or 0.42%, higher at 79,724.12, while the Nifty 50 added 99.00 points, or 0.41%, to end at 24,304.35 in the special session.

During the Muhurat trading session on Friday, FIIs sold Indian equities worth ₹211.93 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also offloaded shares totaling ₹377.33 crore, as per stock exchange data.

A Humorous Take on a Serious Issue

Arora’s playful tweet sheds light on a real challenge: the volatility brought on by substantial FII selling, which has occasionally weighed down the Indian stock markets. Last month, the persistent FII outflows became a recurring theme in market discussions, dragging the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 down 7.5% from their record high levels.

In a witty twist, Samir Arora suggested that if FIIs are still intent on selling despite the early hours, “they better work overtime.” By humorously proposing inconvenient hours for foreign investors, Arora’s statement underscores the sentiment among domestic investors who feel the impact of unpredictable global flows and wish for a reprieve.

While Arora’s suggestion is certainly not intended as a genuine market proposal, it underscores the frustration some investors feel.

His tweet received an enthusiastic response from his followers, with many appreciating the humorous perspective on an issue that has affected domestic retail and institutional investors alike.

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