Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended Monday’s trading session on a higher note, ahead of the RBI and US FOMC's latest meeting minutes to be out later in the week. After making a positive start, soon index slipped into red, as some cautiousness came after the latest data by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed that India's foreign exchange reserves dipped by $5.24 billion to $617.23 billion for the week ending on February 9. However, index cut all of its losses to trade on higher note in late morning session, as traders took some support with India’s G-20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant stating that India needs to grow at an annual rate of 9-10 per cent for around three decades and constant innovations to become a $35 trillion economy by 2047.
In afternoon session, index touched all time high point and remained higher till the end, as traders found support with data showing that India’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments rose by 25.7 per cent on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis to $2.09 billion in January 2024, compared to over $1.66 billion in January 2023. Some support also came as the commerce ministry decided to extend export benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme for companies in the special economic zones (SEZs) and export-oriented units (EOUs). Adding some relief, a private report stated that the government is mulling over introducing a new production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the pharmaceutical sector to boost the production of key chemicals critical to the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In doing so, it aims to reduce Indian companies’ dependence on China for such supplies.
Most of the sectorial indices ended in green except IT, PSU Bank and Realty stocks. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Dixon Technologies (India), Delta Corp and Balrampur Chini Mills. On the other hand, the top losers were Coal India, HDFC Asset Management Company and Zee Entertainment Enterprises. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 22900 - 23100 calls and 20900 - 21100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
