India’s Nifty 50 ends higher on auto boost; midcaps climb

India’s blue-chip Nifty 50 ended a touch higher on last-hour buying on Monday, lifted by gains in automakers after monsoons revived in some parts of the country, while midcap stocks climbed sharply.

The Nifty (.NSEI) closed up 0.14% at 18,691.2, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) dipped 0.01% to 62,970.00. However, the Nifty midcap 100 index (.NIFMDCP100) climbed 0.9%.

Domestic equities appeared to brush off worries of political instability in Russia and a subsequent rise in oil prices, after a short-lived mutiny by Russian mercenaries against Moscow.

Last week, the Nifty consolidated just shy of record levels, while the Sensex eased after hitting an all-time high, weighed down by hawkish central bank commentary.

The indexes struggled for direction for a large part of Monday’s session, before seeing some buying led by automakers and pharmaceutical stocks.

“A revival of monsoon in some parts of India will spur rural population’s discretionary spending and increase the sale of especially two-wheelers,” said Rahul Sharma, market strategist and head of research at Equity99.

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