Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) — the two dominant packs of investors — have divergent sector preferences. FPIs have cornered the bulk of the free float available in sectors such as private banks, real estate, and insurance. Their domestic counterparts, on the other hand, hold more than half of the free float of public sector banks (PSUs), shows an analysis done by Motilal Oswal Securities.

       Free float is the term used to refer to non-promoter shareholding. FPIs own less than a fourth of the free float of PSU banks. Shares of ...