Auto & FMCG stocks offer support as Sensex settles 131 points higher; Nifty tops 23,500

After a slow start to the session, domestic markets recovered gradually towards the the later half of Monday and ended in the green, continuing the positive trend seen last week.

The benchmark BSE Sensex and the broader Nifty50 were up just over 0.2% each. While theSensex closed around 77,341, the Nifty sealed the day at 23,538.

From the Sensex pack, around 17 stocks ended the day positively with Mahindra and Mahindra, Power Grid, Sun Pharma and Nestle India as the major gainers. Meanwhile, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were the major laggards.

On the sectoral front, the gains were led by auto stocks, whose index was up nearly 0.9% and the FMCG pack, which rose around 0.72%. The Nifty IT, metal, PSU bank and pharma indices traded with cuts.

The broader market was mixed with the Nifty Midcap100 gaining 0.27%. the Nifty Smallcap100, on the other hand, ended the day 0.1% lower.

More to come....