U.S.-domiciled India-focused funds recorded $15 million in net outflows during the week ending March 14, the smallest weekly redemption since the third week of January 2025, according to flow-tracking data compiled by EPFR Global. The deceleration marks a shift from February's punishing redemption cycle, when weekly outflows averaged $58 million and coincided with the Nifty 50's 7.2% pullback from its December peak.
European-based India funds, however, continued to see elevated redemptions, with outflows running at roughly $40 million per week through mid-March. Japanese allocators, similarly, maintained their withdrawal pace. The divergence suggests American institutions are pausing to reassess valuations following the Nifty's March rebound, while European mandates remain structurally underweight and willing to exit on any bounce. The total asset base of U.S. India-dedicated funds now sits at approximately $18.4 billion, down 11% from the October 2024 high of $20.7 billion.
The slowdown in U.S. outflows coincides with stabilization in India's high-frequency earnings data. February corporate results showed aggregate Nifty 50 earnings growth of 8.1% year-over-year, the first quarter in three to exceed 8% and ahead of the 6.5% consensus entering reporting season. Financials drove the beat: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra collectively posted 12.3% loan-book growth, above the 10.8% forecast. That performance mattered because the three banks represent 22% of the Nifty's total market capitalization and serve as liquidity anchors for passive and semi-passive U.S. mandates.
What allocators should watch is whether the March quarter sustains the earnings reacceleration or whether one-off treasury gains and lower provisioning flattered the February prints. The Reserve Bank of India's April 4 monetary policy meeting will clarify the central bank's tolerance for rate cuts amid sticky food inflation running at 5.7%. If the RBI holds rates for a fourth consecutive meeting, the Nifty's forward price-to-earnings multiple of 19.2x will face scrutiny, particularly against the MSCI Emerging Markets index trading at 12.8x. European funds, which tend to run higher beta and shorter duration mandates, are pricing in that risk already. U.S. allocators, with their longer hold periods and sector-rotation flexibility, appear willing to wait for the April guidance cycle before resuming full-scale exits.
The $15 million weekly outflow is not stabilization. It is hesitation. If March quarter earnings disappoint or if the rupee weakens past 83.5 to the dollar—currently at 82.9—the pause will end abruptly.