BENGALURU, Dec 12 (Reuters) - India's blue-chip Nifty 50 index hit a fresh record high in early trade on Tuesday before trimming gains as the focus stayed on crucial inflation data from India and the United States, due later in the day, and the Federal Reserve's policy decision.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose as much as 0.19% to a record high of 21,037.90 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.15% to 70,033.64.
Both indexes erased gains and were trading about 0.1% down as of 10:20 a.m. IST
"Markets are likely to consolidate in a narrow range for the next few sessions, given global central banks are set to announce policy outcome this week," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The Nifty 50 traded in a narrow range between 20,975.30 and 21,037.90, narrowest in a month and second narrowest in at least three years.
India's retail inflation likely picked up in November due to higher food prices, reversing a three-month decline, a Reuters poll found. The data is due at 5:30 p.m. IST.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, while expected to show inflation moderating, is still seen above the Fed's target.
The inflation data and the Fed's commentary on Wednesday could influence the near-term rate outlook, according to two analysts. Asian markets were higher.
Among individual stocks, Mankind Pharma dropped 3.3% on reports that three private equity firms planned to sell 5%-6% stake through block deals.
Dixon Technologies jumped 5% after the company's unit secured a manufacturing contract from Lenovo.
Infosys erased early losses and was flat. India's No. 2 information technology company had announced on Monday that its CFO Nilanjan Roy resigned and would be succeeded by insider Jayesh Sanghrajka.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Sonia Cheema and Janane Venkatraman)
