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Informist, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025

By Arya S. Biju

MUMBAI – The domestic benchmark indices are expected to open higher, tracking gains in their Asian and US peers. However, the indices are seen moving in a range Friday as concern over the weak rupee and the lingering uncertainty over the India-US trade deal continue to hurt investor sentiment. On Thursday, foreign portfolio investors turned net buyers of domestic equities for the second straight day, but they continue to be mostly short on the market, according to analysts.   

Overnight, major indices in the US closed higher as softer inflation data for the country in November boosted expectations for interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and chipmaker Micron Technology's guidance signalled strong artificial intelligence demand. The US consumer price index report for November showed that headline annual inflation was at 2.7%, below the 3.1% expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The 12-month rate for core CPI, excluding food and energy, was 2.6%, also lower than the forecast of 3%. Traders now see around 28% chance for rate cut by the apex bank in January and around 60% chance of a cut in March, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

Most Asian indices rose in early trade Friday, mirroring their Wall Street peers. Investors now await the outcome of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting, with most expecting the central bank to hike the key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 0.75% later in the day, amid rising concern about a repeat of the unwinding of the yen carry trade.

Oil prices fell in early trade Friday and were set to close lower for a second straight week, as rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal offset concern over supply disruptions from a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers. At 0803 IST, the Brent crude futures were at $59.70 a barrel, down 0.2%. On a weekly basis, it was down more than 2%.

In the domestic market, information technology stocks will be in focus Friday after US-based IT giant Accenture's management, in a post-earnings investor call Thursday, highlighted that the pace of overall and discretionary spending was at the same level as the previous year. The company Thursday reported a 6% on-year rise in its revenue for the November quarter, led by a robust demand for its managed services. Meanwhile, it has retained its sales growth guidance of 2–5% for 2026 in local currency terms amid no major change in the macroeconomic environment. The company expects its revenue in the range of $17.35 billion–$18.00 billion in the February quarter, lower than $18.7 billion in the reporting quarter.

"We view the results (Accenture's earnings) as overall neutral for Indian IT," Nuvama Institutional Equities said in a report. The brokerage maintains a positive view on the sector in the medium to long term, anticipating a recovery in macroeconomic conditions and artificial intelligence adoption to accelerate spending in enterprise technology.

The GIFT Nifty contracts suggest the Nifty 50 may open higher. At 0753 IST, the December contract of the GIFT Nifty traded at 25954 points, more than 138 points above the Nifty 50's close on Thursday. The Nifty 50 ended largely flat at 25818.55 points on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the short-term chart structure is sideways with negative bias having immediate supports for Nifty 50 seen around 25700 points and resistance around 26050 spot levels, Vipin Kumaar, derivatives and technical analyst at Globe Capital Market, said. "Cross and sustenance above 26050 (points) might take it (Nifty 50) up to 26200 spot levels in the near term, on the flip side, a close below 25700 spot levels might push it around 25450 spot levels," he said. "Options data is still negative having resistance around 26050 spot levels and indicating towards a sell on rise trading approach by the time it is trading below the said resistance levels," Kumaar added. End

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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