Sensex traded flat amid volatile trade, tests 70K, Nifty traded near 21K

The Indian equity benchmark indices ended higher in the volatile session on Monday,with Sensex hit a fresh high as it crossed the 70,000 mark for the first time ever. The rally in the 30-pack index was led by bank stocks. Nifty50 also touched its new all-time high in today's session, and was trading near 21,000 level.At close, the Sensex was up 102.93 points or 0.15 percent at 69,928.53, and the Nifty was up 27.70 points or 0.13 percent at 20,997.10. About 2211 shares advanced, 1358 shares declined, and 174 shares unchanged.
Stocks and Sectors
UPL, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Auto, Adani Enterprises and LTIMindtree were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla, Axis Bank, BPCL and M&M.
On the sectoral front,PSU Bank, FMCG, capital goods, power, metal, realty up 0.5-1 percent, while pharma index down 0.4 percent. The BSE midcap index rose 1 percent and the smallcap index added 0.7 percent.
On 11th Dec'23,the Indian rupee appreciated 3 paise to close at 83.37 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, amid sustained inflow of foreign funds and bullish sentiment in the domestic equity market.An upward movement in crude oil prices, however, weighed on the Indian currency, according to forex traders.
Experts Take
Market experts have recommended five stocks to buy for Monday-Kotak Mahindra Bank, Jindal Steel, SBI, Aptus, Ujjivan SFB.

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