Market volatility looms: Nifty, Sensex await January inflation data for clarity

The domestic equity market indices ended on a lower note on Monday,as investors wait for January inflation numbers,besides selling across the sectors barring IT and pharma names.At close, the Sensex was down 523 points or 0.73 percent at 71,072.49, and the Nifty was down 166.45 points or 0.76 percent at 21,616.05. About 791 shares advanced, 2618 shares declined, and 66 shares unchanged.
Stocks and Sectors
Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Apollo Hospitals, Wipro, Divis Labs and HCL Technologies were the top gainers on the Nifty,while losers included Coal India, Hero MotoCorp, BPCL, ONGC and NTP.
On the sectoral front, FMCG, PSU Bank, capital goods, metal, oil & gas, power and realty down 1-4 percent each, while healthcare and IT indices ended in the green.BSE midcap index fell 2.6 percent and smallcap index shed 3 percent.
On 12 Feb'24,the Indian rupee appreciated 8 paise to 82.99 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday, amid weakness of the American currency in the overseas market.
Experts Take:
Market experts have recommended eight stocks to buy for Monday-KIMS, BoB, DLF, SBI, HUDCO, Bharat Forge, SONACOMS, and Apollo Hospital.

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