Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended Thursday’s trading session at life-time closing high point. Index made slightly positive start, as sentiments were positive after Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in its Interim Economic Outlook said that Indian economy will likely log faster growth at 6.7 percent in FY25 compared with 6.6 percent projected earlier. Some support also came as data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that formal job creation picked up for the first four months of the FY25.
In afternoon session, index continued to trade on higher note, as some support came in with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia’s statement that the government is looking at a target of $100 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows per annum in the coming years, in line with India’s thrust towards the Make in India programme. In last leg of trade, index extended its gains to end at all-time closing high point, as sentiments remained optimistic with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India's external debt-to-GDP ratio at 18.7%, its debt service ratio at 6.7% and foreign exchange reserves-to-external debt ratio at 97.4% are within the comfort zone and way better than many middle-income countries.
