Stock market end marginally higher,IT stocks drag

The Indian equity market scaled new benchmarks on Friday as the bull run continued and buyers flocked to the stock market with sentiments remaining positive following the dovish stance taken by the US Federal Reserve. Strengthening rupee also helped the cause.Nifty Metal and IT sectors were the top sectoral gainers, rising 1% each.At close, the Sensex was up 969.55 points or 1.38 percent at 71,483.75, and the Nifty was up 273.95 points or 1.29 percent at 21,456.65. About 1,796 shares advanced, 1,473 shares declined, and 87 shares unchanged.
Stocks and Sectors
Nifty and Sensex gained over 2 percent this week, while Nifty Midcap 100 index and Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 2.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.On the sectoral front, Nifty IT index emerged to be top performer of this week gaining over 7 percent. Following this, Metal, Realty, and PSU Bank indices were lead performers this week. Banks and automobiles however remained subdued while profits booking sweepers into FMCG names.
On 15 Dec'23,the Indian rupee jumped 33 paise against the US dollar on Friday led by weakness in the greenback and strong gains in domestic equities. The local currency ended at 83.00 a dollar as compared to its previous close of 83.33. 
Experts Take:
Market experts have recommended six stocks to buy for Friday -AU Small Finance Bank, Glenmark Pharma, AB Capital, Shriram Finance, Naukri and LTI Mindtree.

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