Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty – ended Monday’s trading session in positive territory, ahead of India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and India Industrial Production (IIP) data to be out later in the week. After making negative start, soon index erased losses to trade near neutral line amid foreign fund inflows. Foreign investors infused nearly Rs 11,000 crore in domestic equities in the first week of the month owing to resilience of the Indian market and expectations of rate cut in the US. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have been consistently buying equities since June. Before that, they had pulled out funds to the tune of Rs 34,252 crore in April-May. Sentiments were upbeat with RBI data showing that India's forex reserves jumped by $2.299 billion to a new high of $683.987 billion for the week ended on August 30. In the previous reporting week, the forex reserves had jumped by $7.023 billion to a high of $681.688 billion.
In afternoon session, index extended its gains to trade higher, as traders got relief with a private report stating that food inflation, which has moderated a bit lately is further expected to come down in the coming months, citing progressing Southwest monsoon and sufficient water in reservoirs across regions. Traders took support as Ministry of Commerce and Industry in its latest data has showed that India’s trade with Kuwait has surged remarkably, with Indian exports to the Gulf nation reaching an impressive $2.10 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24. The surge in trade marks a significant increase of 34.78 per cent in FY-2023-24 compared to the $1.56 billion reported in the previous fiscal year. In last leg of trade, index magnified its gains to end near day’s high point.
Traders were seen piling up positions in FMCG, Private Bank and Bank stocks, while selling was witnessed in Oil & Gas, IT and Metal. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Godrej Consumer Products, Dabur India and United Breweries. On the other hand, the top losers Birlasoft, Power Finance Corporation and Petronet LNG. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 24900 - 25100 calls and 23900 - 24100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
