Sensex and Nifty opened flat on December 12 as with the US CPI data out of the way, investors now await India's CPI data, due later in the day, to provide cues for the Reserve Bank of India's trajectory on rate cuts. IT stocks led the gains in the Nifty after in-line U.S. inflation data reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week, a positive development for India's information technology companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S.

At 10.10 AM, the Sensex was down 8 points or 0.01 percent at 81,518, and the Nifty was down 17 points or 0.07 percent at 24,624. About 1,383 shares advanced, 1,823 shares declined, and 110 shares remained unchanged.

The markets are currently in a consolidation phase and as per Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, as long as Nifty sustains the 24,250 level, the medium- to short-term trend remains positive.

"Data shows a significant reduction in FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) selling. Additionally, DIIs (Domestic Institutional Investors) are sitting on strong liquidity and have been infusing funds into the market. A steep decline from current levels seems unlikely," Bathini said. He anticipates a recovery in the second half of FY25, supported by the government's focus on ramping up capex spending over the next six months.

When it comes to sectoral trends, Nifty IT gained over a percent, with all 10 components of the index rising between 0.6 percent and 2.3 percent. TCS, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra led the gains in the tech index. IT stocks dominated the Nifty 50 gainers list with Tech Mahindra, Wipro, TCS, HCLTech, and Infosys rising 1-2 percent each.

Meanwhile, Oil and Gas and the Auto indexes shed about 0.4 percent each.

Among individual stocks, Bajaj Housing Finance shares fell over 4 percent as the three-month shareholder lock-in period ended. Shares of Gopal Snacks fell 5 percent as a major fire broke out at the company's snacks manufacturing factory on the outskirts of Rajkot city in Gujarat.

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) shares sank over 2 percent as global brokerage Goldman Sachs reiterated its bearishness on the logistics player. The brokerage maintained its 'sell' call and slashed its target price on CONCOR shares to Rs 710 per share, indicating a downside of 17 percent from the previous session's closing price.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index was flat while the BSE Smallcap index was down by 0.3 percent.

"The mid-cap and small-cap space, which has shown significant momentum recently, now appears to be in the overbought zone," said Ruchit Jain, Vice President, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "Adopting a 'buy on dips' strategy for mid-cap and small-cap indices might be more prudent at current levels," he added.

The U.S. Labor Department's December 11 report revealed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.3 percent month-on-month in November, in line with market expectations. On an annual basis, the CPI stood at 2.7 percent, also matching estimates.

The CME FedWatch Tool indicates a 99 percent probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for December 17–18. A Fed rate cut could bolster domestic equities by attracting foreign inflows.

From a technical perspective, Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP of Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates, highlighted that the Nifty 50 is expected to find support near the 24,340 level. "As long as index sustains above it, traders are advised to adopt 'buy on dips' strategy. On the upside, index might test the levels of 24,800-25,000 in short term," Yedve said.

Apollo Hospital, Tata Consumer, Tata Motors, Titan, and SBI Life were the biggest losers on Nifty 50, declining 1-1.5 percent.