Indian equity benchmarks rose on Monday as auto stocks were in high demand on monthly sales reports that suggested a recovery in the sector. Gains in IT and select banking stocks also boosted the market while a pickup in fuel demand lifted energy companies.

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The S&P BSE Sensex index ended 363.79 points or 0.69 percent higher at 52,950.63 and the broader NSE Nifty50 benchmark settled at 15,885.15, up 122.10 points or 0.77 percent from its previous close.

Among blue-chip stocks, Titan, Shree Cement, BPCL, Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, Indian Oil, Grasim, Britannia and Mahindra & Mahindra, ending between 1.87 percent and 3.58 percent higher, were the top gainers. On the other hand, UPL, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra were the worst hit among the 13 laggards in the Nifty50 universe.

Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS and HDFC were the biggest boosts for Sensex, together contributing more than 250 points to the gain in the 30-scrip index.

Most auto stocks jumped as monthly sales data cemented hopes of recovery a fallout from the pandemic. Maruti Suzuki posted a 50 percent jump in July sales. Tata Motors reported a 92 percent surge in total domestic sales and Bajaj Auto's sales rose 44 percent.

"A recovery is seen in July auto sales and an improved outlook for real estate due to a surge in property registrations helped these sectors trade higher. The $1 trillion infrastructure spending package in the US provided better prospects to the core economy, aiding global markets to start the month on a strong footing," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The Nifty Auto index -- which tracks shares of 15 auto and auto ancillary companies -- closed with a gain of 1.34 percent.

Bharat Petroleum rose 3.05 percent, Indian Oil 2.62 percent, ONGC 1.86 percent and Reliance Industries 1.63 percent, helping the 10-scrip Nifty Energy index settle 1.56 percent higher for the day. Preliminary sales data showed that the country's daily gasoline consumption exceeded pre-Covid levels last month as states relaxed lockdowns to curb the spread of the pandemic.

"Encouraging domestic cues, i.e. an uptick in GST collections and improved auto sales, boosted sentiment, triggering a firm start to the week. However, a lack of decisiveness in the banking pack capped the upside as the session progressed," said Ajit Mishra, VP-Research at Religare Broking.

The Nifty Bank gauge finished 0.36 percent higher for the day, having risen as much as 0.80 percent during the session.

Broader markets outperformed the headline indices, with the midcap gauge hitting a record. Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.56 percent to end at a record closing high. The smallcap index also spiked, ending with a gain of 0.91 percent.

Bliss GVS, Oberoi Realty, Future Consumer, Crisil, Allcargo and Prestige Estate -- ending between 7.19 percent and 7.84 percent higher -- were among the top gainers. On the other hand, Aegis, Balrampur Chini, Equitas, JM Financial, CCL and TeamLease -- ending between 2.78 percent and 3.81 percent lower -- were among the top laggards.

Equities in other Asian markets recouped some of their recent steep losses on Monday as beaten-down Chinese markets drew retail bargain hunters. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.8 percent, having hit its low for the year so far last week. Japan's Nikkei bounced back 1.8 percent, but that was from its lowest since January.

European equity markets began the day on a strong note, with the United Kingdom's FTSE benchmark trading 0.99 percent higher in the first few hours of trade.

France's CAC and Germany's DAX indices were up 0.84 percent and 0.19 percent respectively.

First Published:Aug 2, 2021 3:40 PM IST