Sensex, Nifty Extend Gains For Fourth Day; Auto Stocks Shine

Indian equity benchmarks on Monday extended their winning run for the fourth straight session, led by gains in automobile shares as monthly data showed a sharp rise in July sales. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries and other energy stocks also supported the upward movement.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 545 points or 0.95 per cent to close at 58,116 today, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 182 points or 1.06 per cent higher to settle at 17,340.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.67 per cent and small-cap climbed 1.80 per cent.

14 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto and Nifty Oil & Gas outperformed the NSE platform by rising as much as 3.27 per cent and 2.12 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Tata Motors was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 6.77 per cent to Rs 480.05. M&M, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and ONGC were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood positive as 2,299 shares advanced while 1,161 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, M&M, PowerGrid, NTPC, Airtel, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, ITC, SBI and Axis Bank were among the top gainers with their shares up as much as 6.15 per cent.

Further, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, rose 0.80 per cent to end at Rs 683.25.

In contrast, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India, Asian Paints and TCS finished in the red.