Sensex, Nifty End Higher; Auto Index Ends At 19-Month High

Indian equity markets managed to eke out gains during the final few minutes of a rangebound trading session to end higher for the fourth straight day.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.5% higher at 44,180 while the NSE Nifty 50 index ended 60 points shy of the 13,000 mark - up 0.5% at 12,937.

Among sectoral indices, it was the day of banking and Auto stocks. The PSU Bank index was the top performing sectoral index, ending with gains of 3.5% while the Nifty Auto index ended at the highest level since April 2019, with gains of over 3%.

The Nifty Bank and the Nifty Realty indices gained 1.9% each.

The Nifty FMCG index was the top sectoral laggard, ending 1% lower while the defensives like Nifty I.T. and Nifty Pharma ended with losses of over 0.5%.

Broader markets, which were unchanged at the start of trade, outperformed the benchmarks. The Nifty midcap index ended 1.4% higher while the Smallcap index gained 0.3% at the close.

India Volatility Index remained below the mark of 20, ending 2.7% lower at 19.26.

1,096 stocks on the NSE have ended with gains while 764 posted losses.