Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold Indian equities worth a billion dollars (excluding the Sun Pharma block deal) in the last 10 days. The trend is unlikely to reverse in May if one goes by history. According to data compiled by ETIG, on average, the May month’s contribution in the total FII net flows has been the lowest. In the last eight out of 10 years, between 2005 and 2014 (excluding 2008 and 2011when FIIs were net sellers), the average contribution of FIIs in the month of May has been only 1% of the total FII inflows. Other months on average contributed 8.3% to the annual net FII inflows. In addition, the month of May is the most volatile in terms of returns since results of the last two general elections (in 2009 and 2014) were announced in May. The highest monthly return in May was 28.1% in 2009, and the biggest drop was 17.4% in 2004. Despite its lower contribution to the FII pie and higher volatility, the month of May is when Indian markets have been able to outperform the average of regional indices such as MSCI Asia ex-Japan, China, Japan, and Hong Kong in the last eight years.