Sensex Rises 77 Points, Nifty Gains 32; Auto Stocks Lead Rally

Benchmark domestic equity indices ended with marginal gains today. The Sensex gained 77 points, or 0.09 per cent, to close at 80 thousand 787. Similarly, Nifty added 32 points or 0.13 per cent, to settle at 24 thousand 773. The broader market indices at the Bombay Stock Exchange also displayed a positive trend. The Mid-Cap index advanced over 0.3 per cent, while the Small-Cap index rose 0.3 per cent. In the Sensex pack, 16 out of 30 companies edged downward. Among the top laggards, Trent fell 3.8 per cent, Asian Paints dipped 1.9 per cent, and HCL Tech decreased 1.2 per cent. Among the top gainers, Tata Motors expanded nearly four per cent, Mahindra and Mahindra rose almost four per cent,t and Maruti climbed over 2.3 per cent. 
In Sectoral indices at the BSE, 15 out of 21 sectors logged gains. In the top gainers, Auto surged 3.1 per cent, Consumer Discretionary rose over 1.1 per cent, and services added above 0.8 per cent. Among the top laggards, Focused IT dipped 0.9 per cent, IT lost 0.8 per cent, and Consumer durables and TECK both slipped 0.7 per cent each.