BackSensex jumps 287 points on Day 1 of FY19, auto stocks top gainers
Robust sales data triggered a rally in auto stocks, led by Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindrarising up to 3.5%
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Mumbai: Commencing the new fiscal on a buoyant note, the benchmark Sensex soared around 287 points to close at 33,255 following a strong rally in auto, pharma and banking counters.
Robust auto sales data triggered a rally in auto stocks, led by Tata Motors Ltd, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd—rising up to 3.5%. Shares of banks, too, witnessed a keen interest from participants, with Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd and Indusind Bank Ltd and Yes Bank Ltd leading the charge. ICICI Bank Ltd shares, however, plummeted nearly 6%, hit by controversy over alleged conflict of interest involving the lender and Videocon Group.
The Indian bourses reopened on Monday after a long weekend due to holidays for Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday on last Thursday and Friday, respectively. A positive start in the April derivative series also had an impact on investor sentiments as they indulged in creating fresh positions.
“Markets rallied on account of stellar auto sales and value buying of pharma stocks influenced by USFDA approvals. US stock futures dropped and other Asian markets reversed an early advance, where volume was low as many markets remained closed... Back home, investors are focusing on upcoming RBI policy while consensus shows status quo on key rates due to declining yield and inflation," Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, said.
However, other Asian markets showed subdued trends turned after initial firmness due to profit-taking in late trade and any absence of cues form European markets that were closed for Easter. The Sensex after a gap-up opening to regain the 33,000-mark advanced to hit a high of 33,289.34 before terminating at 33,255.36, showing a hefty gain of 286.68 points, or 0.87%. The gauge had lost 205.71 points on the last session of FY18 on Wednesday.
The NSE 50-share Nifty rose 98.10 points, or 0.97%, to end at 10,211.80 after moving in a range of 10,220.10 and 10,127.75. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs1,960.67 crore on Wednesday, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs1,190.55 crore last Wednesday, as per provisional data released by stock exchanges.
In the auto sector, India’s largest automaker Maruti Suzuki climbed 1.65%, to end at Rs9,009.05 after reporting a 14.9% rise in vehicle sales for March; while Tata Motors rose 3.47% to Rs338.80 on the back of encouraging monthly sales data. Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra also gained 0.86% to Rs746.60 after the company today reported a 10% increase in total sales at 62,077 units in March as against 56,202 units for the same month last year.
Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp too gained 2.22% and 2.68%. Kotak Bank emerged as the top gainer in the Sensex kitty by surging 4.65% to Rs1,097.40, followed by Adani Ports at 4.55% to Rs370.80. Other winners in the Sensex-pack included Wipro, Asian Paint, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy, HDFC Bank, TCS, L&T, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel, ONGC, RIL, IndusInd Bank, ITC Ltd, HDFC Ltd, Yes Bank, Power Grid, NTPC and Infosys, gaining up to 2.95%.
Besides ICICI Bank, other losers were Axis Bank, Coal India, SBI and Bharti Airtel, falling up to 2.20%. Sectoriwse, the BSE healthcare index gained the most by surging 2.48%, followed by auto index 2.14%, capital goods 2.03%, infrastructure 1.84%, FMCG 1.44%, power 1.29%, IT 1.28%, tech 1.05%, metal 0.70%, realty 0.51% and consumer durables 0.43%.
While bankex, PSU and oil and gas ended in the negative terrain. In line with overall trend, buying activity also extended to the broader markets with the smallcap index rising 2.35% and midcap index 1.40%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.31%, while Shanghai’s Composite Index shed 0.18%. Hong Kong markets remained closed on Monday for a public holiday, while the European markets were shut on account of Easter.
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