Samir Arora’s witty wisdom: Change Indian stock market opening hours to tackle FII sell-off

The Indian stock market is experiencing continued selling pressure from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who offloaded their shares by a large margin ₹1 lakh crore in domestic equities in October alone. These significant outflows have sparked strong reactions from investors and analysts alike.

Noted fund manager and founder of Helios Capital, Samir Arora, also commented on the situation and shared a light-hearted suggestion on social media, amid concerns over the impact of the ongoing FII selling on the Indian stock market.

His humorous proposal: shift the Indian market’s opening hours to 3:30 am and close at 6:30 am IST, a time window that could potentially deter FIIs from actively trading 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 the late evening in New York City, around 6 p.m. According to Arora, this timing would mean that most FIIs in the United States, especially on the East Coast, are already done for the day and are unlikely to want to extend their working hours.

By closing the market at around 6:30 am IST, Arora emphasized that this would also coincide with the opening of Singapore markets, softening the impact of Asian trading activity and potentially reducing volatility due to foreign investor sentiment .

Arora’s humorous comment 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 the special session at 24,304.35.

During the Muhurat trading session on Friday, FIIs sold Indian shares worth ₹211.93 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also sold shares for a total amount of ₹377.33 crore, according to stock exchange data.

A humorous look at a serious problem

Arora’s playful tweet sheds light on a real challenge: the volatility caused by substantial FII selling, which has at times put pressure on Indian equity markets. Last month, continued FII outflows became a recurring theme in market discussions, dragging benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 down 7.5% from their record levels.

In a funny twist, Samir Arora suggested that if FIIs still intend to sell despite the early hours, “they better work overtime.” By humorously portraying uncomfortable hours for foreign investors, Arora’s statement underlines the sentiment among domestic investors who are feeling the impact of unpredictable global flows and are seeking a reprieve.

While Arora’s suggestion is certainly not intended as an actual market proposition, it underlines the frustration some investors are feeling.

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

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations expressed above are those of individual analysts or brokerage firms, and not of Mint. We advise investors to contact certified experts before making investment decisions.