Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended Friday’s trading session in positive terrain led by gains in heavyweight stocks. Index made a slightly positive start, as traders took support with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that President-elect Donald Trump is a ‘friend of India’ and India-US friendship will only continue to blossom and grow further. The minister also said he does not foresee any problems in the Indo-US partnership, and exuded confidence that it would further strengthen with the new administration taking over in Washington.
In afternoon session, index extended its gains to trade near day’s high point and remained higher till end of the day, as sentiments remained optimistic, amid a private report stating that revenue collections of states, as percentage of their gross domestic product, are budgeted to beat the pre-Covid level in 2024-25 on the back of projected improvement in their own revenue streams as well as central transfers. Adding more relief, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in its latest notification has said that government has been taking various steps to ensure fair and reasonable prices for consumers.
