Domestic markets witnessed pressure throughout the session on Thursday closing near day’s low, while broader markets finally saw selling after a 14 day gaining streak. In today's trade, markets will react to easing inflation data at 5.48%.

"We expect markets to trade in a range with a positive bias, on the back of easing retail inflation and favourable global cues," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal.

The markets remained range-bound for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, closing with minimal change. In today's trade, the markets may react to the US inflation data, which was the largest in seven months.

"We anticipate the consolidation phase to conclude soon, with the Nifty likely to surpass the 24,800 resistance level. While sectoral participation remains selective, the banking and IT sectors are expected to play a pivotal role in driving the next leg of the rally," said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking.

Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

STATE OF THE MARKETS
GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a negative start
GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded lower by 85 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 24,561, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for negative start on Friday.

• Tech View: This sideways consolidation in Nifty may persist for a few more days as the index remains within a defined range. A decisive fall below 24,470 could trigger a meaningful correction in the market. On the higher side, resistance is seen at 24,650-24,700.
• India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, fell 0.58% to settle at 13.19 levels.

US stocks down
Wall Street pulled back on Thursday as investors evaluated key economic indicators ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week. A Thursday Labor Department report showed U.S. producer prices rose more than forecast in November, though a moderation in service costs pointed to a continuation of the broader disinflationary trend. Initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed last week, raising concerns about labor-market resilience.

• Dow down 0.53%,
• S&P dips 0.54%,
• Nasdaq falls 0.66%

Asian shares fall
Asian equities fell Friday as investors reined in appetite for risk ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Japanese and Australian shares declined and equity futures for Hong Kong signaled losses after selling on Wall Street hit stocks and government bonds Thursday. The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.7% while the S&P 500 fell 0.5% as traders weighed higher-than-expected jobless claims against too hot producer price data.

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9 a.m. Tokyo time
• Hang Seng futures fell 1.2%
• Japan’s Topix fell 0.7%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.1%

Stocks in F&O ban today

1) Granules

2) Manappuram

3) Metropolis

4) PVR Inox

5) RBL Bank

6) Hindustan Copper

Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.

FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors turned net sellers at Rs 3,560 crore on Thursday. DIIs bought shares worth Rs 2646 crore.

Rupee
The rupee depreciated by 5 paise to settle at an all-time low of 84.88 against the US dollar on Thursday, dragged down by negative domestic equity markets, outflow of foreign funds and rise in crude oil prices.

FII data
The net short of FIIs increased from Rs 47,768 crore on Wednesday to Rs 68,081 on Thursday.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)