Sensex hits fresh 16-mth high; auto stocks drive rally

Mumbai, Sep 2 (PTI) After a day’s pause, benchmark Sensexresumed its upward march by regaining almost 109 points to endat new 16-month high of 28,532.11 and the broader NSE Niftyreclaimed the 8,800-mark, driven by auto stocks on upbeatAugust sales data amid positive global cues. Though, investors remained cautious awaiting US jobs datato be released later in the day which would give cues aboutwhether the Federal Reserve goes for early rate hike or not. On a weekly basis, the Sensex climbed 749.86 points or2.69 per cent and the NSE Nifty soared 237.10 points or 2.76per cent, biggest weekly gains in over two months. Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP ParibasFinancial Services Ltd, "Though markets were subdued early inthe day, the recovery in telecom stocks from yesterdayÂ’s panicfall helped indices swing higher. Auto and banks continued theuptrend, and broader market sentiments remained upbeat towardsbetter growth in the second half of the year." "To that end, it seemed as if markets were less worriedabout impending US non-farm payrolls data and the potential ofa September rate hike from US," he added. The rupee strengthening by 10 paise to 66.85 (intra-day)against the dollar during the day also positively impactedtrading sentiment. Country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki emerged as topgainer in the auto segment, surging 1.98 per cent to Rs5,158.50 after the company yesterday posted a 12.2 per centrise in total sales for August. Also, shares of Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra rose1.17 per cent to Rs 1,468.85 after the company reported a 14per cent rise in total sales to 40,591 units in August. Hero MotoCorp, country’s largest two-wheeler maker’sstock, gained 0.89 per cent to Rs 3,578.55 after the companyreported a 28 per cent increase in sales at 6,16,424 units inAugust, while Bajaj Auto rose 0.11 per cent to Rs 2,999.85despite the company reported a 5 per cent decline in its totalsales in August. Tata Motors too evoked sizeable buying support and gained1.13 per cent to Rs 549.80 after its sales in August jumped 6per cent to 43,061 units. Telecom stocks such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular andReliance Communication staged a comeback after yesterday’splunge, rising up to 2.66 per cent. Telecom stocks suffered huge losses in yesterday’s tradeafter Mukesh Ambani announced the launch of much-talked aboutJio 4G service, offering free voice calls and nationalroaming. More PTI SUN DP KPS SDGMKJ