The only difference is that the current phase of pull-out is slower and does not match the agressive pumping in of funds seen during April-July. The reason is simple, they cannot pull down the market that they had built. Hence the strategy of a phased profit-booking without disturbing the market. FIIs started withdrawing funds in small measure from mid-August. During September net FII investments were a negative Rs 740 crore. ``This was anticipated. This is the season when FIIs book profit. I see them slowing down their activity by the end of this month. November will be flat,'' asserts a fund manager.

Neel B Dalal, a BSE member, expects FIIs to stop selling by the middle of November, and they won't wait till end-November to embark on the year-end profit booking.

Brokers do not see any panic in the negative FII figures even as word about their fears over India's Y2K compliance spreads in the market. ``Profit-booking is bound to be focussed in the IT sector, as this is the one which has witnessed phenomenal appreciation in a very short time,'' says the fund manager.

``Local operators had built-up huge positions and have once again been caught on the wrong foot. Expecting FIIs to enter at 5000 plus level is wishful thinking,'' adds another fund manager.

``Huge outstanding position is one of the concerns for the FIIs. Also it seems they feel that the software, pharma and the FMCG stocks are overheated at the present levels which is why they are going out of these counters and entering the cement and cyclicals,'' says Parag Jhaveri at Ask-Raymond James.

``A number of FIIs now have Indian fund managers who remember how the FIIs burnt their fingers when they had entered the Indian market for the first time a few years back. I don't expect a repeat of the same this time around,'' says a dealer with a domestic broking house.

According to Ketan Desai at Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediaries, ``FIIs are not making any fresh purchases now. It's time for them to book profit now, a bit earlier than the previous years. However, as we buy on expectation, I feel some of these FIIs to come to back as and when they see the government taking policy decisions on expected lines. I expect the FIIs to start buying, at least in some select stocks, as evrybody seems to be optimistic on the growth stories.''

INSIGHT:

Special FII deal in HDFC

Yet another special deal between FIIs in the HDFC counter has been reported indicating that foreign investors continue to be bullish in this counter. This is the third such deal to happen in HDFC, where FII investments have tounched a ceiling. The deal, put through by CSFB Securities and reported on the BSE as a special bargain deal between FIIs, was at a price of Rs 317.40, at a premium to the market price.