Mumbai : The Indian equity market ended slightly higher on Monday, led by gains in auto and metal stocks. Early optimism fueled by GST reforms, improved India-US relations, and rate cuts announced by major automakers pushed indices to intraday highs.
The Sensex closed at 80,787.30, up 76.54 points (0.09%), after opening at 80,904.40. It touched an intraday high of 81,171.38 before losing momentum in late trade due to a sell-off in IT stocks and profit booking.
The Nifty 50 settled at 24,773.15, up 32.15 points (0.13%).
“The domestic market failed to sustain early gains as late-session selling reflected the ‘buy-on-dips, sell-on-rallies’ approach, highlighting investor caution,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
Auto and ancillary stocks rallied on expectations of a demand recovery following GST rate cuts, while IT counters remained weak amid global uncertainties. Internationally, softer US jobs data boosted hopes for a Fed rate cut in September, further supporting market sentiment.
Among Sensex gainers, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Airports, Bajaj FinServ, Ultratech Cement, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, and BEL performed well. On the other hand, Trent, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, TCS, Sun Pharma, L&T, NTPC, and Bharti Airtel saw declines.
Sector-wise, Nifty Auto surged 868.60 points (3.30%), Nifty Fin Services gained 53 points (0.21%), and Nifty Bank rose 72 points (0.13%). Meanwhile, Nifty IT fell 325 points (0.94%) amid persistent selling pressure.
Broader markets mirrored the trend. Nifty Small Cap 100 increased 29 points (0.16%), Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 285 points (0.50%), and Nifty 100 added 45 points (0.18%).
Investors continue to weigh domestic policy reforms alongside global economic cues, maintaining a cautious but optimistic outlook for the coming weeks.
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