New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS): An important trend in the market which has implications for retail investors is the revival of the tug of war between FIIs and DIIs, says V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

FPIs have sold equity massively for Rs 20,480 crores during the last two day. This is partly in response to the rising bond yields in the US where the 10-year yield has risen to 4.16 per cent and partly due to the high valuation in the Indian stock market. Since the largest chunk of FII AUM is in banks, they have been selling in banks, mainly HDFC Bank, he said.

In the tug of war between FIIs and DIIs in recent years, DIIs always won in the medium to long-term even though FII selling can cause short-term pain. FII selling due to external factors has always been opportunities to buy, he said.

Mid and small cap segments are strong despite excessive valuations because there is sustained buying and no selling pressure from FIIs. This anomaly will be corrected in due course, he added.

BSE Sensex is up 437 points at 71,624 points on Friday. Sensex has given up some of its gains. Bharti Airtel is up 3 per cent, Axis Bank is up 2 per cent.