The Indian equity markets ended higher on December 13 led by the information technology and financial names with the Sensex closing 402.73 points or 0.65 percent higher at 62,533.30, and the Nifty rising 110.80 points or 0.60 percent to end at 18,608.
Amid positive global cues, the Indian indices opened on a flat note but witnessed buying in the next couple of hours, as retail inflation was at an 11-month low at 5.88 percent, and ended near the day's high levels.
"Underpinned by favourable domestic macro numbers and optimistic global cues, domestic indices belled the day in positive terrain. PSU banks led the rally while IT snapped its losing streak on bargain buying," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial.
"India’s retail inflation eased sharply to 5.88 percent, which was within the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance band. However, the euphoria was partially offset by an unexpected decline in industrial production, which shrank 4 percent in October. The US inflation figures, which are due before the Fed announcement, will provide an indication of the Fed's policy stance," he added.
Stocks and sectors
IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, M&M, HCL Technologies and Infosys were among the top Nifty gainers, while losers included Apollo Hospitals, Hindalco Industries, BPCL, UPL and Nestle India.
Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank index rose nearly 4 percent, the information technology index gained 1 percent, the Nifty Bank index rose 0.5 percent and the auto index added 0.4 percent.
The BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended in the green.
On the BSE, the information technology index added 1 percent and the bank and capital goods indices added 0.4 percent each. However, the realty index shed nearly 1 percent.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 400 percent was seen in Tata Communications, Multi Commodity Exchange of India and Dr Lal PathLabs.
A long build-up was seen in Tata Communications, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Polycab India, while a short build-up was seen in Dr Lal PathLabs, Laurus Labs and Dalmia Bharat.
More than 150 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including Walchandnagar Industries, Yes Bank, Union Bank Of India, South Indian Bank, Ramky Infrastructure, PSP Projects, NCC, Kalpataru Power Transmission, Indian Overseas Bank, DCB Bank, Bharat Forge and Axis Bank.
Outlook for December 14
Shrikant chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities
Markets were on a firm footing on the back of short covering as retail inflation easing to an 11-month low raised hopes that the rate hike regime could slow down and take a pause going ahead. Also, overnight gains in the US markets aided the local market sentiment, which had slipped into a range-bound mode over the past few sessions.
Technically, the market not only reclaimed the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) level but also closed above the same which is broadly positive. The bullish candle on daily carts and promising reversal formation are indicating the continuation of an uptrend wave in the near future.
The uptrend texture is likely to continue in the near future and 18,700-18,725 would be the next resistance zone for the bulls. On the other hand, a fresh selloff could be seen only after the dismissal of 18,450.
Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
The Nifty is witnessing a minor bounceback within the short-term consolidation. On December 12, the index had taken support near 18,350 and thereon the index has taken an intermediate leap. On the way up, it crossed a falling trendline. However, it halted near the hourly upper Bollinger Band. Also, the daily chart shows that the index has moved up to retest the lower channel line after the recent channel breakdown.
Overall structure shows that the Nifty is likely to continue with the short-term consolidation in the range of 18,300-18,650. The Bank Nifty is a stone’s throw away from the short-term target of 44,000 beyond which it can target 44,500.
Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking
Markets witnessed a breather and gained over half a percent, tracking firm global cues. After the initial uptick, the Nifty index gradually inched higher and settled around the day’s high to close at 18,608 levels.
Continued buoyancy in the banking pack and recovery in the IT majors played a key role in recovery while others traded mixed. The market breadth was also positively inclined, thanks to noticeable buying in midcap and smallcap space.
Indications are in favour of further rebound. However, a lot would depend upon how the US market reacts to the inflation data. On the index front, The Nifty could find a hurdle around 18,750 and the banking index may take a breather around 44,250 levels. Amid the prevailing consolidation, we reiterate our positive tone and suggest continuing with the buy-on-dips approach.
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