Sensex ends 173 points higher, Nifty at 11,259; auto stocks lead

Sensex and Nifty ended on a bullish note on Monday, on back of heavy buying in auto and metal stocks, amid positive global equities. Reversing from three straight sessions of losses, Sensex ended 173 points higher at 38,050 and Nifty gained 81 points to close at 11,259. On Friday, the BSE Sensex settled 433 points lower at 37,877 and Nifty fell 122 points to end at 11,178.

NTPC, Tata Steel, L&T, Titan and Kotak Bank were among the major gainers on the Sensex pack. While, RIL, SBI, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top laggards.

Sectorally, barring pharma and PSU Bank, all the other sectoral indices closed in the green territory, with over 2.5% gains registered in auto, metal and media indices. April-June quarterly earnings announcements by Can Fin Homes, Petronet LNG, Lux Industries, HFCL, Scooters India, Suven Pharma, Sical Logistics among others also kept the tone for the stock market positive today.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said: "The key highlight of the day was the stellar move witnessed in the Automotive Sector well supported by the FMCG sector as well. PSU heavyweights too joined the party in late afternoon trade."

Benchmark indices opened higher, although turned muted within the first hour of the session, amid volatile global equities. The bourses finally ended higher, led by positive European markets.

Asian markets closed mostly lower as investors remained cautious amid rising tensions between the US and China. Wall Street closed lower on Friday as investors kept a close watch on coronavirus and negotiations and tensions with China. Data on the US economy also added to uncertainty over the recovery.

Meanwhile, a planned US-China trade deal review initially set for Saturday was reportedly delayed with no new date agreed upon. The delay was due to scheduling conflicts as well as to give time for more Chinese purchases of the US exports.

European markets were trading higher on Monday, overcoming Friday's losses, although investors remained concerned over the second wave of coronavirus in the UK and stalled US stimulus talks.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said: "Indian indices overcame an uncertain start and traded in a range, before ending the day with gains. Global cues were also mixed due to the delay in the approval of the US stimulus package and mixed economic data coming in from around the world."

On Nifty 's technicals, Angel Broking in its note said: "Nifty concluded the week tad below 11200, marking more than a percent loss on Friday. Going ahead, a breach of 11100 would lead into an immediate correction towards 10975 -10875."  

Commenting on the market movement, Manish Hathiramani, said, "11050 would be the level to watch out for this week. If we can break that, shorts could be attempted for a target of 10800-10900. On the upside, 11350 is the resistance and any up move would require us to go past that."

Expressing views over the week's trend, Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said: "Markets will first react to the outcome of AGR hearing in early trade on Tuesday i.e. August 18. On the global front, participants are closely eyeing the US and China tussle. Besides, the upcoming OPEC meeting is also on their radar. We thus advise continuing with a positive yet cautious stance and maintaining focus on overnight risk management."

As per analysts, equities markets worldwide have turned mixed as investors remained wary over the uncertainty regarding the fresh US economic relief, the outcome of the US-China trade talks and worsening coronavirus crisis. Globally, there are 218 lakh confirmed cases and 7.73 lakh deaths from COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, India continues to see a rising number of coronavirus cases, with death toll crossing 50,000 and total coronavirus standing at 26.5 lakh as of Monday.

Wipro share price rises 3.54% on acquisition of Brazilian firm

Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 173 points higher, Nifty at 11,259; Hindalco, Eicher Motors top gainers