FIIs turn long on Nifty in May series. What lies ahead?

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have increased their net longs in Nifty and Single Stock Future (SSF), while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have sold equities. FIIs pumped in $3.1bn in May while DIIs sold equities worth $372m. HNI and retail clients increased their short positions in the index while reducing their longs marginally in SSF. Bulls maintained their upper hand throughout the May series and continue to hold the grounds. The auto, IT, realty, and FMCG sectors recorded gains in May while the PSU bank and pharma sectors recorded losses. The Nifty can move higher but crossing 18,660 will remain a challenge, according to a Nuvama report.