Indian shares inch higher as auto stocks gain

Indian shares rose on Monday, led by auto stocks after monthly data showed an uptick in July retail sales, with Mahindra & Mahindra leading gains on the back of posting a quarterly profit last week.

By 0530 GMT, the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) climbed 0.34 per cent to 16,293.30 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.36 per cent to 54,472.37.

“There is good buying from foreign institutional investors, and we can expect the market to rise further this week and the next,” said Gaurav Garg, head of research at CapitalVia Global Research.

Indian shares notched gains for four out of five sessions last week, scaling record peaks on Wednesday thanks to ample liquidity and strong corporate earnings momentum. Both indexes gained 3per cent last week.

The Nifty Auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) rose 0.48 per cent on Monday, after data from India’s Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations showed total vehicle retail sales for July rose 34.12per cent from a year ago.

Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS) and financial services firm Bajaj Finserv (BJFS.NS) were the top two gainers on the Nifty, adding 2.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively.

The carmaker reported a profit for its first quarter on Friday, as demand for passenger vehicles and tractors improved.