M&M rises 1% as a top Sensex gainer

Defying weakness in domestic equities amid turmoil in global financial markets following the US credit ratings downgrade, auto major Mahindra & Mahindra rose by over 1% on the bourses today on the back of growth in its net profit for the quarter ended June 30.

Shares of the company went up by 1.42% to touch an early high of Rs 675.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Similarly, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock rose by 1% to touch an early peak of Rs 675.25.

The company was the top performer among the Sensex blue-chips in morning trade.

M&M yesterday reported a 7.56% jump in standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 30 to Rs 604.88 crore on the back of good sales and expenditure control measures.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 562.39 crore for the corresponding period last year.

Its standalone total income also increased by 30.49% during the first quarter of the fiscal to Rs 6,733.54 crore from Rs 5,160.10 crore in the year-ago period.

In contrast to the gains in the company's stock, the BSE Sensex was trading down by 295.60 points at 16,694.58 in early trade. In the first few minutes of trade, the index had tanked by 558 points.