Every evening after Indian markets close, stock exchange websites and financial news platforms publish figures such as net foreign institutional investor (FII) buying or selling. Today, for instance, provisional data showed FIIs as net sellers of approximately Rs 312 crore and DIIs as net buyers of approximately Rs 1,784 crore in the cash segment. These numbers are described as provisional because they are compiled from data captured during the trading session, before all the back-office settlement and reconciliation processes have been completed.

The FII and DII flow figures published at the end of each trading day are provisional, meaning they represent the best available count at that moment, not the settled record.

In equity markets, trades in India settle on a T+1 basis, meaning a trade executed today is formally settled the next business day. During the overnight settlement window, custodians, clearing corporations, and brokers reconcile their records. Occasionally, a trade gets reclassified, a corporate action adjusts a figure, or a reporting error is corrected. When this happens, the exchange or depository updates the numbers, and the revised figure becomes the final record. The difference between provisional and final is usually small, but it can be meaningful on days with large block deals or technical corrections.

For a retail investor reading a market wrap, the practical implication is straightforward: treat end-of-day flow figures as directional indicators rather than precise final counts. The direction, whether institutions were broadly buying or selling, tends to hold after revision even if the exact rupee amount shifts. Official final data is typically available the following day through exchange disclosures and NSDL or CDSL depository reports. Keeping this distinction in mind helps avoid over-interpreting small daily swings in institutional flow data, which are among the most watched but also among the most frequently revised numbers in daily market reporting.