Sensex, Nifty End Modestly Higher As Pharma Stocks Jump

Indian shares eked out modest gains on Monday despite weak cues from Asia and Europe.

A cautious undertone prevailed as the dollar gained traction and Treasury yields edged up ahead of key inflation readings from the U.S. and China due this week.

Closer home, the Reserve Bank of India’s MPC meeting begins tomorrow and concludes on August 10.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex rose 232.23 points, or 0.35 percent, to 65,953.48, with pharma and auto stocks pacing the gainers.

The broader NSE Nifty index settled 80.30 points, or 0.41 percent, higher at 19,597.30.

LTIMindTree, Sun Pharma, SBI Life, Mahindra & Mahindra and Divis Laboratories jumped 2-5 percent in the Nifty pack, while Britannia Industries fell 2.7 percent after Q1FY24 results missed Street estimates.

Tata Motors, SBI and Bajaj Auto all fell around 1 percent.

The rupee consolidated in a narrow range today after Friday’s U.S. jobs report proved to be a mixed bag.

While payrolls fell more than expected in July, a surprise dip in unemployment and strong wage growth indicated that the labor market remains tight.

Oil prices fell about 1 percent after reaching four-month highs last week on signs of tight supply. Gold traded lower in European trade on dollar strength.