Nifty Auto paces up ahead of Feb sales data; Tata Motors, Maruti in fast lane

The Nifty Auto index gained 1.7 percent to 20,744 in the afternoon on March 1, ahead of February sales data. The robust GDP figure of 8.4 percent for the third quarter of this fiscal has added to the upbeat sentiment in the market as a healthy economy signals better purchasing power, positively impacting the auto sector.

At 1:40pm, Tata Motors was trading at Rs 976, up nearly 3 percent from the previous close on the NSE. While Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra were also trading higher by 2.2 and 1.2 percent, respectively.

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Stocks of two-wheeler companies that have been leading the monthly sales data for the last couple of months, were also in the green. The Bajaj Auto stock was trading at Rs 8,050, up 2 percent from the previous close on the NSE. Hero Motocorp and Eicher Motors also edged higher by 1.5 and 1 percent, while TVS Motor Company was the only laggard, trailing by half a percent on the bourses.

In January, two-wheeler sales spiked 15 percent to 14,58,849 units, while passenger vehicles saw a 13 percent increase during the month. Commercial vehicle sales were largely flat, gaining a marginal 0.1 percent to 89,208 units a year back.

In the last six months, the index has gained over 30 percent, while the Nifty has climbed 15 percent over the same period.

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