Maruti Suzuki zooms over 3% in early trade

The country's largest car-maker, Maruti Suzuki, surged by over 3 per cent in early trade on the BSE today on hopes of goods sales during the peak festive season.

On a day when the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by 198.49 points to 20,267.61 in early trade, shares of Maruti Suzuki registered the maximum gains. The auto major's scrip surged by 3.03 per cent to touch an early high of Rs 1,484.70 on the Sensex.

The scrip witnessed a similar trend on the National Stock Exchange, and rose by as much as 3.26 per cent to Rs 1,488 at the start of the session.

"Auto companies are riding high on the expectations of improved demand in the festive season. Besides, good monsoon has also boosted the sentiment of the auto stocks," CNI Research CMD Kishore P Ostwal said.

Shares of other major auto companies also started the day on a smart note, with Mahindra & Mahindra soaring by 2.55 per cent to Rs 711. Similarly, Tata Motors also gained up to 2.15 per cent to hit an all-time high of Rs 1,120.95 in morning trade.

However, defying the trend, shares of Hero Honda were trading in the red at Rs 1,828.30, down 1.27 per cent from the previous close.