Market breadth was generally positive with 2,303 advancers while 1,298 decliners on the BSE.
New Delhi: Indian stock benchmarks on Monday were steady in the green led by gains in auto shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 86 points or 0.14% to close at 61,309, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 52 points or 0.29% to end at 18,308. During the day, both indexes fluctuated between gains and losses amid weakness in pharmaceutical and financial stocks before showing positive signs.
Mid- and small-cap stocks posted gains as the Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.16% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.60%.
Nine of the 15 industry measures – compiled by the National Stock Exchange – are colored green. Nifty Auto outperforms this stat by up to 2.05%.
On the stock-specific front, Hero MotoCorp was the top Nifty gainer as the stock rose 5.11% to Rs2,701. Grasim Industries, ONGC, Tata Motors and UltraTech Cements were also among the gainers.
Auto stocks were led by Hero Motocorp up 4.99%. The two-wheeler maker said it will invest around Rs 420 crore in electric vehicle (EV) maker Ather Energy. Maruti Suzuki India, on the other hand, is up 2.08% after a price hike and Tata Motors is up 2.80% after it was reported that the automaker is planning to produce 50,000 EVs in the next financial year.
Additionally, Metro Brands, backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, jumped 20% after the company reported a 54.63% increase in consolidated net profit for the third quarter ending December 2021.
On the other hand, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Cipla, Axis Bank and Britannia were among the losers.
Shares of HCL Tech fell 5.89% as the IT service provider reported a 13% drop in third-quarter net profit.
Market breadth was generally positive with 2,303 advancers while 1,298 decliners on the BSE.
On the 30-stock BSE platform, UltraTech Cements, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Tata Steel, TCS and L&T attracted the most returns with their shares up as much as 2.75%.
HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and Sun Pharma were among those that fell.
