After touching all-time high point during the day, Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended Monday’s trading session below its neutral line, amid volatility. After making a cautious start, soon index extended its gains to trade on higher note, as traders got some support after the latest data published by the Reserve Bank of India showed that India’s forex reserves surged by $4.54 billion to $648.7 billion as of May 17, marking an all-time high. Traders took note of the Finance Ministry’s report that the economic momentum in the April-June quarter of 2024-25 will continue with a likely boost in the merchandise exports as a result of supply chain resilience, while India’s macroeconomic buffers will help navigate through the risk of volatility in oil prices.
In afternoon session, index traded near lifetime high point, as sentiments remained optimistic with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry stating that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty on intellectual property, Genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, is a significant win for countries of the global South and for India, which is a mega biodiversity hotspot with abundance of traditional knowledge, and wisdom. Traders took note of Fitch Ratings’ latest report stating that the larger-than-expected Reserve Bank of India (RBI) dividend to the government should help to ensure the 5.1% of Gross domestic product (GDP) deficit target for the fiscal year ending March 2025 (FY25) and could be used to lower the deficit beyond the current target. The new government’s budget following the release of election results in June is likely to be presented in July and it will determine how the dividend will be used. However, in last leg of trade, index came off day’s high point to settle below 23000 mark.
