Mumbai: Sensex closed at a fresh record high on Monday driven by auto and consumer durable stocks, but surging oil prices kept a lid on any further upmove. The NSE Nifty slid from record and ended flat after profit went off the table.
Investors observed usual caution following developments related to shake-up in Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump commencing his Asia trip with a visit to Japan.
The 30-share Sensex reached a new peak during the day, but lots its grip before settling at a fresh closing high of 33,731.19, up 45.63 points, or 0.14%. It breached the previous closing record of 33,685.56. The gauge had gained 112.34 points in the previous session on Friday.
As for the 50-issue NSE Nifty, it was an intra-day record, but finished almost at its previous level, down 0.70 point, or 0.015, at 10,451.80. The gauge had closed at a record 10,452.50 on 3 November.
Auto stocks such as Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland and TVS Motors were in fast lane, rallying by up to 3.28%.
“After a subdued opening, the market reversed to a high led by buying in autos and some oil companies in expectation of improved refining margin. But market lost its gain due to weak opening in the European market and rising oil prices,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.
Better-than-expected earnings from index heavyweights made investors build on their bets too, according to a trader. Titan Co. soared nearly 19% after it recorded 67.44% jump in its net profit for the second quarter to September.
State-owned explorer ONGC was on the top of the league in the Sensex pack, adding 3.81% at Rs198.65, after global crude prices jumped to a more than two-year high. Others top gainers were Cipla, TCS, Wipro, SBI, Adani Ports and HDFC Ltd, rising by up to 2.47%. Stock of M&M rallied 2.49% after reports that the company would consider bonus shares issue later this week.
Investors are holding on to hopes that the government’s announcement of big-bang financial package last month as part of broader efforts will spur the economy. The BSE consumer durable goods was the high point, surging 8.60%, followed by auto, IT and realty. A similar trend saw the mid-cap index go up by 0.46% and small-cap by 0.31%.
Improved liquidity in the market amid continuous pumping in of sufficient funds was instrumental in creation of more bets. Domestic institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs33.40 crore while foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth Rs9,690.84 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.
Asian stocks were mixed. Key indices in Europe held steady in their opening session.