Stock market trade range-bound amid global concerns

The Indian equity market indices traded lower on Monday amid declines in global markets and rise in oil prices due to nervousness around escalating violence in the Middle East, while investors awaited the quarterly results of India's top private lender HDFC Bank.At close, the Sensex was down 115.81 points or 0.17 percent at 66,166.93, and the Nifty was down 19.30 points or 0.10 percent at 19,731.75. About 1992 shares advanced, 1669 shares declined, and 152 shares unchanged.
Stocks and Sectors
Hero MotoCorp, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Coal India and LTIMindtree were the top gainers on the Nifty while the losers included Divis Laboratories, Nestle India, TCS, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints.On the sectoral front,Metal index up 1.3 percent, PSU Bank index up 0.7 percent and Auto index up 0.4 percent. On the other hand, realty and healthcare indices ended lower.BSE Midcap index rose 0.25 percent and Smallcap index added 0.3 percent.
On 16 Oct'23,the Indian rupee Indian rupee fell to 83.28 against the U.S. dollar,marking its lowest level in one year against the greenback.
The rupee's drop comes amid rising concerns about oil prices and as investors wait to see if the ongoing conflict in the Middle East draws in other countries.
The Reserve Bank of India is likely selling dollars via state-run banks to ensure that the rupee does not fall to a record low, four traders told Reuters on Monday."Central banks in emerging markets are required to intervene in the currency market from time to time to prevent excessive volatility," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said last week on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meeting in Marrakech.
Experts Take:
Market experts have recommended six stocks to buy for Monday-Sun Pharma, Chambal Fertilisers, Axis Bank, M&M Finance, Tata Motors and Jamna Auto.

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