Auto stocks nudge higher

Key benchmark indices languished in negative terrain in mid-morning trade. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 84.36 points or 0.28% at 29,842.98. The Nifty 50 index was down 21.10 points or 0.23% at 9,240.85. Market sentiment was subdued as US fired dozens of cruise missiles into Syria.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.28%. The BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.44%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,462 shares rose and 1,031 shares declined. A total of 120 shares were unchanged.

Auto stocks edged higher. Bajaj Auto (up 1.25%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.62%), Eicher Motors (up 0.58%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.41%) and Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.2%) advanced. Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.53%) edged lower.

Tata Motors rose 0.31% at Rs 474.50 after the company said its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) retail sales rose 21% to 90,838 units in March 2017 over March 2016. JLR's retail sales grew 13% to 1.79 lakh vehicles in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. JLR reported a 16% growth in retail sales at 6.04 lakh vehicles in FY 2017 over FY 2016.

Key cement stocks edged higher. UltraTech Cement (up 0.2%) and Ambuja Cements (up 0.06%) advanced. ACC (down 0.3%) edged lower.

Grasim Industries was up 0.32%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) was down 1.2% at Rs 922.60. Reports suggested that HUL will have to increase prices to meet the 20% target for operating margins set by its parent Unilever Plc.

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed. US equities closed well off session highs yesterday, 6 April 2017, after Trump said he's willing to act alone on North Korea if China does not step up.

Meanwhile, US fired dozens of cruise missiles into Syria. The missile strikes happened as President Donald Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

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