New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- After selling for four consecutive months, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian stocks worth Rs.20,200 crore in July, as per NSDL data. Net-net, FPI inflow, including equities, debt, hybrid, mutual funds, alternative investment funds (AIFs), for July stood at Rs.40,031 crore into the Indian financial market.

The return of FPIs to buying Indian equities was among the key factors that drove the benchmarks up in July. The Sensex and the Nifty 50 gained over 2% each in July, extending gains for the second consecutive month. The Nifty Midcap 100 also clocked a gain of nearly 2%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose by 2.5% for the month.

However, till 31 July, the Nifty was down 7%, and the 30-share pack was dow...