Auto, Pharma shares shine in Nifty's 1,000-point rally

Sesa Sterlite, BPCL, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Lupin, HUL and Cipla gain between 30-50%.

Shares of automobiles, pharmaceuticals, information technology (IT), metal and realty sectors have rallied the most in the Nifty’s 1,000-point journey during past 78 trading sessions.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) 50-share index CNX Nifty crossed the psychologically key level of 8,000 for the first time on Monday after investor sentiment was boosted following upbeat GDP data in the first quarter ended June 30, 2014.

During the first quarter, India’s economy grew at a nine-quarter high of 5.7%, compared with 4.6% in the previous quarter. For the June quarter of 2013-14, gross domestic product (GDP) had increased 4.7%.

The benchmark index hit record high of 8,022.70 in intra-day trades today, rallying 17% or 1,164 points from its closing level of 6,858.80 on May 9, 2014. Nifty had hit 7,000 for the first time on May 12, boosted by the exit poll results.

The rally has been backed by sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) flows and participation of domestic mutual funds, which have bought close to Rs 60,000 crore since May 9. Better-than-expected corporate earnings for the quarter ended June also boosted sentiment.

FII inflow totalled Rs 44,426 crore ($7.4 billion), while mutual funds invested a net of Rs 14,012 crore in Indian equities between May 9 and August 28, data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India showed.

CNX Auto and CNX Pharma index surged more than 25% each, while CNX Realty, CNX Metal and CNX IT gained between 18-22% during Nifty’s 1,000 points rally.

Among the individual stocks - Sesa Sterlite, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Maruti Suzuki India, Tech Mahindra, Lupin, Hindustan Unilever and Cipla gaining between 30-50% during the period.

Mahindra and Mahindra, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Grasim Industries, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharat Heavy Electricals, DLF, IDFC, Axis Bank, and HDFC are among few appreciating between 20-30%.

However, United Spirits, Jindal Steel and Power and Cairn India recorded negative returns up to 13%, while Reliance Industries, ITC and Ambuja Cements underperformed the market by reporting less than 5% gain during the period.