Sensex sheds 377 pts, Nifty closes near 20,900

The Indian equity market indices erased early gains on Tuesday ahead of inflation data and the US Fed policy decision. Nifty had hit a fresh all-time high in trade during the opening hours. RIL, Infosys and L&T were top drags in afternoon session.At close, the Sensex was down 377.50 points or 0.54 percent at 69,551.03, and the Nifty was down 90.70 points or 0.43 percent at 20,906.40. About 1424 shares advanced, 1822 shares declined, and 83 shares unchanged.
Stocks and Sectors
HDFC Life, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Auto, SBI Life Insurance and Axis Bank were the biggest gainers on the Nifty, while losers included BPCL, Apollo Hospitals, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma and Eicher Motors.
On the sectoral front,except metal, all other  indices ended in the red with capital goods, oil & gas, power and realty down 1 percent each.The BSE midcap index shed 0.4 percent and smallcap index fell 0.2 percent.
On 12th Dec'23,the Indian rupee appreciated by 1 paisa to close at 83.36 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid foreign fund inflow and softening of the American currency against its major rivals. According to forex traders, positive cues from the domestic equity market also boosted investors' sentiment while the upward movement of crude oil prices weighed on the Indian currency.
Experts Take
Market experts have recommended six stocks to buy for Tuesday-Tech Mahindra, Cummins India, Jindal Steel, Century Plyboards, JSL and Tata Chemicals.

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