Mumbai, Dec. 19 -- Indian equities enter the holiday-shortened week with a mixed backdrop: domestic momentum has steadied after the Nifty recovered from a short correction, while the rupee showed tentative strength near Rs 90-mark, following central-bank intervention amid heavy year-to-date foreign outflows. Headline inflation in India remains benign, with the provisional CPI for November coming in at 0.71%. This provides room for further policy easing by the RBI.

Globally, softer US consumer prices eased recession fears and supported risk appetite. At the same time, the Bank of Japan moved to raise rates, underscoring rising policy divergence that may pressure Asian FX and fund flows. China's trade surplus widened sharply in November, h...