Markets extend gains for 6th day in row; Auto, IT stocks in lead, Tata Motors top gainer

Sensex edged up by 13.54 points or 0.02% to close at 59,846.51. The benchmark did cross the psychological mark in the trading hours, by hitting an intraday high of 60,109.11.

Nifty 50, meanwhile, gained by 24.90 points or 0.14% to end at 17,624.05. The 50-scrip benchmark neared 17,700 levels, by touching an intraday high of 17,694.10.

Top gainers on Sensex were — Tata Motors in lead with about 5.4% gains, followed by Wipro, Power Grid, L&T, and M&M surging between 1.5% to 2%.

Top losers on Sensex were — Bajaj Finance slumped by 1.8% followed by IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, and HUL tumbling by 1% to 1.5%.

In terms of sectoral indices, auto stocks outperformed with over 353 points upside, followed by Capital Goods and IT index jumping by 296 points and 238 points respectively on BSE. Oil & Gas index surged by 205 points.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, “Sentiments in the domestic market improved after the RBI’s decision to keep rates unchanged, coupled with positive revisions in GDP and inflation forecasts. The positive quarterly business updates from auto and real estate firms caused strong movements in their respective sectors, but the overall mood was slightly dampened by solid US job data, which raised fears of further rate hikes by the Fed. The release of inflation data in India and the US, along with the FOMC minutes, have now become crucial in determining the market trend.”