Indian shares ended Monday's trading session with losses dragged by oil & gas, power and metal. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 311.03 points or 0.51 percent to 60,691.54, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 99.60 points or 0.56 percent to 17,844.60. The midcap index closed in the green but off highs. Market breadth favoured declines.

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The midcap index surged 25 points to 30,667 while Nifty Bank slipped 430 points to 40,702.

As many as 18 stocks in the Sensex ended in the red. Adani Enterprises, Cipla, Britannia, BPCL and UPLwere among the biggest losers on the Nifty, while gainers included Divi's Lab, Ultratech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid and Hindalco.

HDFC was the biggest loser on the Sensex chart, shedding 1.33 percent. Nifty Bank constituents closed in the red. ICICI, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra were top losers. Vodafone Idea continued its downward move and finished the session as top midcap loser. Defence stocks witnessed profit booking. Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics slipped 2 percent each.

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Cipla, the second highest weighted stock in the pharma index, tumbled nearly 7 percent, to a near-seven-month low after the company's Pithampur unit received eight observations from the US drug regulator after inspection.

According to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, drubbing in banking stocks dragged down the markets today, which languished in the negative territory for major part of the trading session.

"Factors such as more pain going ahead through further rate hikes, rising inflation, and the recent Adani saga continue to weigh on investors' minds. Also, Indian stocks are still expensive compared to China, and hence investors are taking this opportunity to curb their holdings," he said.

Going forward, Chouhan said that a bearish candle on daily charts is indicating further weakness from the current levels. However, the Nifty is trading near the 20-day SMA and Sensex is trading near the important support level of 60600.

"If the index succeeds to trade above 17,900, a quick pullback rally is not ruled out. Above which, it could move up to 18,000-18,125. On the flip side, a fresh selloff is possible only after the dismissal of 17,800 and below the same the index could slip till 17,730-17,700," he added.

"Stocks are getting beaten ahead of the release of Fed minutes on Wednesday. Maintaining its guard against inflation, the Fed is expected to remain hawkish. As expected, it is unlikely to have a dire effect on the global stock market. However, the consequence of constant high interest rates is causing a slowdown in demand and the earnings outlook, hence the near-term trend will be cautious," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China ended in the positive territory. European markets were trading lower. The US markets had ended on a mixed note on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.95 per cent to USD 83.79 per barrel. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 624.61 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

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