Markets to track inflation data, US Fed interest rate decision this week: Analysts

US Stock Market News: The trading activity in the domestic equity market this week will be largely driven by a host of macroeconomic data announcements and the US Fed interest rate decision, analysts said.

Industrial Production data and retail inflation rate are scheduled to be announced on Monday. Besides, wholesale inflation data will be released on Wednesday.

"This week is going to be crucial in terms of global cues, where the US inflation numbers and the outcome of US Fed policy decision will be the most important events for the market.

"On the domestic front, our industrial production and retail inflation numbers will be announced on December 12, while wholesale inflation numbers will be announced on December 14," said Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd.

Apart from this, news flows from China, the movement of crude oil prices and the dollar index will be other important factors. Institutional flows also need to be watched, as FIIs have been net sellers for the past week, Meena further said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,305.97 crore, throughout the week.

"The leader of the current bull market, Nifty Bank, continued its strong show despite the hawkish RBI policy, Meena added.

On Friday, Nifty Bank ended 36.60 points or 0.08 per cent higher to settle at 43,633.45.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the key interest rate by 35 basis points (bps) in a move to bring down inflation to a tolerable limit.

"The RBI raised policy rates by 35 basis points as expected while remaining cautious and signalling a further rate hike in the upcoming meeting. The policy stance was maintained as 'withdrawal of accommodation' to bring inflation within the target range while supporting growth," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

According to Nair, the GDP forecast for FY23 was brought down from 7.0 per cent to 6.8 per cent, considering the spillover effect of the global economic slowdown. Crude oil prices dropped. However, while easing COVID curbs in China benefited the demand outlook, fresh sanctions on Russian oil further added volatility to global oil markets.

Last week, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 686.83 points or 1.09 per cent. On Friday, the Sensex settled at 62,181.67, and the NSE Nifty closed at 18,496.6.

"The IT sector witnessed the highest profit booking after warning of a potential slowdown in business due to global recession fears. The market is currently trading at premium valuations; slowing earnings growth will impact market sentiment," Nair added. 

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