Indian stocks end marginally higher amid day-long volatility

The domestic stock market closed marginally higher on Tuesday led by gains in auto and energy stocks, ahead of the Fed interest rate decision on Wednesday. At close, the Sensex was up 99.56 points or 0.12 percent at 81,455.40, and the Nifty was up 21.20 points or 0.09 percent at 24,857.30. About 2074 shares advanced, 1378 shares declined, and 79 shares unchanged.
BPCL, NTPC, Tata Motors, Power Grid Corp and Asian Paints were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Cipla, LTIMindtree, SBI Life Insurance, Grasim Industries and Sun Pharma.
On the sectoral front, except FMCG and Healthcare, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with power, realty and auto up 0.5-1 percent.BSE Midcap index was up 0.3 percent and Smallcap index rose 0.9 percent.
Rupee Close:
On 30 July'24,the Indian rupee appreciated 1 paisa to close at 83.72 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid a positive trend in domestic markets ahead of the US Fed policy announcement.Traders reportedly stated expectations were high that the Federal Reserve might signal a rate cut as early as September. The US Fed has left the borrowing rates at a near-quarter-century high for the past year in its aggressive fight against inflation.
Trading Guide:
Market experts have recommended these five shares to buy today — Affle India, Artemis Medicare Services, RCF, Pidilite Industries, and Wipro.

(Writer is a Finance Research Analyst, based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat)