Nifty ends marginally higher ahead of U.S. inflation data

11 Dec 2024 Evaluate

Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended Wednesday’s trading session in a positive territory ahead of key inflation data from the U.S. later in the day and the domestic CPI print on December 12, expected to provide cues on the rate trajectories for both economies. After making cautious start, soon index turned volatile, as Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that inflation is a big challenge for the world and the major reason for that is ‘disruption’. Index added gains to trade higher in late morning session, as sentiments got boost after foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,285.96 crore on December 10.

Index continued to trade in green in afternoon session, as traders were getting some relief amid a private report stating that the government is likely to project a conservative nominal GDP growth estimate of around 9.5 percent for the 2025-26 budget, factoring in expectations of slowing inflation and steady economic activity. The fresh estimate follows recent data indicating slower growth, with real GDP expanding by just 5.4 percent in the second quarter of FY25. In last leg of trade, index trimmed some of it gains and ended above its neutral line.

Traders were seen piling up positions in Consumer Durables, FMCG and Healthcare stocks, while selling was witnessed in PSU Bank, Media and Bank. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Tata Communications and Dalmia Bharat. On the other hand, the top losers were Avenue Supermarts, Adani Green Energy and NCC. 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.