The Sensex and Nifty flatlined on December 10 after trading in a narrow range for most of the session as caution prevailed ahead of the upcoming US and India CPI data due later this week. The benchmarks briefly dipped into the red but found support while the midcap and smallcap indices gained 0.3 percent each, helping the benchmarks close largely unchanged from the previous session.
Amid a lacklustre session, the IT index emerged as a star performer, gaining nearly a percent and hitting a record high of 45,377.75, led by Infosys, LTIMindtree, and Wipro. Shares of Infosys and LTIMindtree rose by 1 percent and 3 percent, respectively, following HSBC's upgrade of both stocks to 'Buy', and naming them as its top picks in the IT sector.
At close, the Sensex was up 1.6 points at 81,510 and the Nifty was down 9 points or 0.04 percent at 24,610. About 1,969 shares advanced, 1,828 shares declined, and 122 shares remained unchanged.
"Favourable global market conditions and the rupee's weakness against the US dollar are driving the bullish sentiment in IT stocks. This momentum is likely to persist for some time," said Osho Krishan, Technical and Derivative Analyst at Angel One.
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The IT sector benefits significantly from dollar-denominated revenues, and any further rupee depreciation is expected to bolster bottom lines.
On the broader market outlook, Krishan said that while CPI data meeting expectations could act as a positive trigger, Nifty is likely to remain in a consolidation range of 24,400–24,800 for now.
Investors also digested the surprise appointment of Sanjay Malhotra as the new Reserve Bank of India Governor on December 9. Bank of America highlighted the challenging backdrop he faces, citing a sharper-than-expected slowdown in growth, near-term inflation volatility, and the need to stabilise the rupee.
Additionally, expectations of Chinese stimulus stirred market interest. Beijing announced plans to adopt 'moderately loose monetary policies' next year and introduce steps to boost consumption, marking its first such policy shift in 14 years.
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Commenting on these developments, market veteran Sunil Subramanian advised patience in reacting to China's measures. "This step by China could be a way to counter Trump's tariffs against the country. The last time such a measure was announced by China, the execution of it was quite underwhelming," he told Moneycontrol.
In terms of sectoral performance, besides IT, banking, consumer durables, and realty sectors posted gains of 0.3–1.5 percent.
In contrast, the Nifty Energy and Nifty Oil & Gas indices fell 0.6 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Reliance Industries (RIL) and ONGC fell over 1 percent each dragging the Nifty Oil & Gas index down.
Shares of Reliance Industries, the second-largest weight in the Nifty 50, declined after J.P. Morgan highlighted near-term risks to FY25 earnings growth.
Amongst individual stocks, shares of Greaves Cotton rallied 18.5 percent as ace investor Vijay Kedia acquired 12 lakh shares through a block deal, representing a 0.52 percent equity in the company.
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Religare Enterprises shares rose 3.5 percent after the RBI approved the Burman family's plan to acquire an additional 26 percent stake in the company. RBI directed the acquirers to consolidate NBFCs within the group structure by March 31, 2026.
Life Insurance Corp of India shares fell nearly 4 percent after posting a 27 percent year-on-year drop in total premium collections in November.
From a technical standpoint, Ashish Kyal, Founder & CEO of Waves Strategy Advisors said that a breakout above 24,700 could ignite positive momentum in the Nifty 50. "Conversely, the index must hold above the immediate support level of 24,400 to maintain stability."
Bharti Airtel, Dr. Reddy's Labs, HDFC Life, Adani Enterprises, and Adani Ports were the top losers on the Nifty 50, declining 1.2-1.5 percent. On the other hand, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, HCLTech, and Infosys led the gainers, rising 1.3-2.6 percent each.
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