Sensex extends losses, falls 353 pts, Nifty dips below 22,150

The Indian equity benchmark indices ended the session on a negative note on Monday,dragged down by banking, financial, and IT stocks.At close, the Sensex was down 352.67 points, or 0.48 percent, at 72,790.13, and the Nifty was down 90.65 points, or 0.41 percent, at 22,122.05. Power Grid Corp, L&T, Adani Enterprises, BPCL and Tata Consumer were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Asian Paints, Hindalco Industries, Apollo Hospitals, Divis Labs and Titan Company.
On the sectoral front,Information Technology and Metal down 1 percent each, while Bank and Pharma down 0.5 percent each. On the other hand, oil & gas, power and capital goods up 0.5-1 percent.BSE Midcap index lost 0.4 percent, while Smallcap index ended on a flat note.
Rupee Close:
On 26 Feb'24,the Indian rupee gained 2 paise to settle at 82.89 against the U.S. dollar in a range- bound trade on Monday, tracking volatility in the equity market. Forex traders said inflow of foreign funds and softer crude oil prices provided support to the Indian currency.
Also, the dollar retreated from higher levels as investors moved cautiously ahead of inflation and other macroeconomic data to be released in India and elsewhere this week,they said.
Trading Guide:
Market experts have recommended nine stocks to buy for Monday- SONACOMS, Centum Electronics, M&M Finance, Sunteck Realty, Welspun Corp, LT, Cochin Shipyard, KFin Technologies, and Astral.

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