Indian shareshit near three-month high

Indian shares closed at their highest level in nearly three months on Monday as automakers advanced and UltraTech Cement jumped on strong earnings, but losses in HCL Technologies due to weak margins put a lid on the gains.

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) ended 0.29 per cent higher at 18,308.1 and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.14 per cent to 61,308.91 as the third-quarter earnings season entered its second week.

Both the indexes are now just around 1.5 per cent shy of record highs hit in October, after rising for fourth straight weeks.

Investors are looking ahead to major events including blue-chip corporate earnings and the federal budget due early next month.

Underpinning the gains on Monday, UltraTech Cement (ULTC.NS) rose 2.7 per cent to a two-month high after reporting a jump in quarterly profit and saying demand would rebound in the final quarter.

The Nifty Auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) was the best performing sub-index with a 2.1 per cent gain, led by a 5.1 per cent rise in Hero Motocorp (HROM.NS). The two-wheeler maker said it would invest about $56.6 million in electric vehicle (EV) firm Ather Energy.

Carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MRTI.NS) rose 2.2 per cent after it raised prices and Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) was up 3 per cent after a report said the company was planning to make 50,000 EVs in the next fiscal year.