September was for portfolio rejig: Funds bought beaten-down IT, financials, FMCG stocks

After a stellar run since March, equity markets took a breather in September. Fund managers booked profits at higher levels and restructured their midcap portfolio. They exited stocks that have run up in the recent past. Reliance Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund and Kotak Mutual Fund booked profits in Ceat, while the first two also exited Bharat Financial Inclusion.

Some fund managers booked profits in pharma stocks like Alkem Labs, Dr Lal Pathlabs and Advanced Enzyme Technology, after the sharp surge post their IPOs. Fund houses bought infrastructure stocks yet to rally. They bought Nav Bharat Ventures, Ashoka Buildcon and Dalmia Bharat. Among the large-cap names, Castrol saw buying by ICICI Pru MF, Reliance MF, UTI MF, IDFC MF and Kotak MF.

Mutual funds lapped up financials, beaten-down IT large-caps and FMCG heavyweights. Zee, Infosys and Reliance were among large-cap names that saw major selling. Profit booking was also seen in upstream ( ONGC, Oil India) and downstream ( IOCL, HPCL) players.