India's Sensex ended higher on Monday after snapping a six-day losing streak as gains in auto sector outweighed declines in consumer durables and capital goods sector.
The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 0.16 percent or 29.63 points to 18,339.00 and the 50 share NSE Nifty declined 0.05 percent or 2.65 points to 5,571.40.
The markets opened on a flat note, tracking the positive cues from the Asian peers as sentiment was buoyed on hopes that U.S. President Barack Obama and the Congress would reach a budget agreement to overcome the looming fiscal cliff, a set of spending cuts and tax increases that would automatically take effect at the beginning of next year unless the government takes steps to prevent it.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the winter session of parliament set to start on Thursday. Telecom shares extended rally after last week's 2G auction failure. Sun TV Network Ltd. gained 2.53 percent and Reliance Communications Ltd. advanced 1.55 percent while Bharti Airtel Ltd. surged 3.29 percent after the company stock was upgraded to an "outperform" rating from an "underweight" rating with a price target of Rs. 335 at Credit Suisse.
Shares of Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra surged on hopes of rising sales this month as part of the festival season, Reuters reported. Maruti Suzuki surged 3.87 percent and Mahindra & Mahindra gained 1.60 percent while Hero MotoCorp gained 1.37 percent.
Among the sectoral indices, Auto, FMCG, Realty and technology sectors ended with gains while all other sectors experienced selling pressure. The gains from Auto sector were offset by declines in consumer durables, metal and capital goods sector.
Titan Industries Ltd. fell 1.84 percent and TTK Prestige plunged 2.18 percent while Tata Steel and Sesa Goa slipped 1.61 percent and 0.72 percent respectively.
Crude oil prices advanced on Monday as the fighting between Israel and Palestine continues to escalate, raising the concerns over supply disruptions. Israel continued to bomb Palestinian militant targets in Gaza, including the media operations of Hamas, from the sea and air on the fifth day.
The overall market breadth was negative with 1767 declines against 1064 advances. The BSE's Midcap Index declined 0.89 percent to 6598.99 and Smallcap Index fell 0.85 percent to 7,050.54. CNX midcap Index plunged 1.02 percent and CNX IT fell 0.28 percent.
