Nifty bounces back on benign inflation numbers

Mumbai, Feb 13: Nifty bounced back from Monday's losses after India’s CPI inflation came in at a three-month low of 5.10 per cent, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

While the Nifty 50 rose 127 points, or 0.59 per cent, to end at 21,743.25, the Sensex closed at 71,555.19, up 483 points, or 0.68 per cent.

All sectors ended in green, except metals, as banking and financial services emerged as the top gainers. The PSU sector bounced back after witnessing profit booking over the last few sessions. On the other hand, Reliance became the first Indian company to cross Rs 20 lakh market cap, Khemka said.

The MSCI Global Standard Index saw a quarterly rejig on Tuesday that could lead to inflows of nearly $1 billion from passive FII funds. Many stocks such as NMDC, GMR Airports, Union Bank, BHEL, and Punjab National Bank were in focus post the MSCI review, he said.

After two days of sharp correction, the broader market saw some recovery. Going ahead, Nifty is expected to remain in the broader range given the lack of positive triggers globally and mixed set of domestic Q3 earnings, which too is unable to provide any support.

All eyes will be on US inflation data that will be released later on Tuesday, as it will hold key importance from the US Fed interest rate cut point of view, Khemka added.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said the domestic market largely recovered from Monday's losses, driven by gains in the banking sector. The improved sentiment stemmed from a decline in domestic inflation, which is expected to boost rural demand.

Despite this, broader markets continued to underperform compared to frontline indices due to high valuations. However, investors remained cautious ahead of US inflation data, anticipating a moderation, pivotal for the Fed's interest rate trajectory, Nair said.