Sensex, Nifty trade higher as falling crude, strong auto sales lift sentiment

Mumbai, July 2 (IANS) Indian equities traded higher in the morning session on Thursday, supported by easing crude oil prices, strong auto sales data and optimism over first-quarter earnings.

Sensex surged as much as 0.38 per cent or about 300 points to hit an intraday high of 77,218.78 in early trade. Nifty climbed 0.35 per cent or 86 points to 24,092.05.

Sectorally, IT emerged as top gainer, with Nifty IT index jumping over 3 per cent, followed by Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom, Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty.

Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media edged lower.

Meanwhile, NTPC, Power Grid Corporation, Bajaj Finance, ONGC and Bharti Airtel were among the top Nifty losers, falling up to 1 per cent.

According to market experts, several factors are supporting the market in the near term.

They said the sharp decline in crude oil prices is strengthening India’s macroeconomic fundamentals by supporting growth while keeping inflation in check.

They also pointed to robust June auto sales — particularly a 24.1 per cent rise in passenger vehicle sales — as a sign that domestic demand remains resilient.

Experts added that banking stocks and digital platform companies are likely to remain strong on expectations of healthy first-quarter earnings.

However, they cautioned that the sustainability of the market’s outperformance will depend largely on the progress of the monsoon, which has remained below expectations.

International oil benchmark Brent crude declined more than 1 per cent to $70.65 per barrel. Similarly, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 1.47 per cent to remain below $68.

Asian markets showed a mixed trend. Japan’s Nikkei traded over 1 per cent lower, while South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 4 per cent. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1 per cent.

Overnight in the US, Wall Street ended lower, with the S&P 500 declining 0.22 per cent and the Nasdaq settling 0.66 per cent lower.

–IANS

ag/