New Delhi, Jul 24 (IANS): Following a flat opening, the Nifty was volatile throughout the day ending in a negative close on Monday.

For investors, the market is buys on dips with a strict stop loss of 19500, and if the Nifty closes below the indicated level, we can expect more profit booking, says Deven Mehata, Equity Research Analyst, Choice Broking.

The market has traded negative with the Sensex losing 0.45 percent and closed at 66384.78 and Nifty was down by 0.37 percent intraday and closed at 19672.35 levels whereas Bank Nifty was down by 0.33 percent and settled at 45923.05, he said.

Among sectors Nifty Auto and Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSE ended in green while Nifty Metal, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumption ended on the lower side.

In Nifty stocks, Indusind Bank, M&M and Dr Reddy Labs were the top gainers while ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance were the prime laggards, he said.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said volatility has re-emerged as initial Q1 results are below the expectations.

Sector wise setbacks were experienced in IT and FMCG, unveiling weak demand and high input costs. Banks are mixed while Pharma stocks are withholding the volatility in anticipation of a better demand from developed economies, reduction in US pricing issues and expansion in operating margins, he said.

Investors are also watchful of the upcoming FOMC meeting, addressing rate hike and quantitative tightening measures, which could have an implication on FIIs inflows.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said as expectations are getting reset in sync with the first quarter earnings that are underway, we witnessed profit booking post earnings and news flows today in heavy weights as well as financials. Investors need to be mindful of cuts in stock prices if eventual outcomes on earnings fail to match up with expectations.