Maruti Suzuki’s stock was the top gainer on the Nifty and also led the 1% jump in the auto index
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Indian shares rose on July 9, led by Maruti Suzuki after the car maker’s shares were traded at a premium to its closing price.

The NSE Nifty 50 was up 0.14% at 24,354.6 points as of 10:30 a.m., while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.21% to 80,126.43 points.

Maruti Suzuki jumped 4.75% after the automaker’s shares were traded in eight block deals — the trade of a large number of shares negotiated outside the open market — at a premium of 2.5%-4.3% over their closing price on Monday.

The stock was the top gainer on the Nifty and also led the 1% jump in the auto index.

Overall, eight of the 13 major sectors logged gains.

“The overall fundamentals of the markets remain positive, which is limiting any downside despite high valuations,” said Poonam Tandon, chief investment officer at IndiaFirst Life Insurance.

“On the domestic front, it will be the national budget on July 23, earnings season and monsoon that will be key triggers in the next few weeks,” Tandon added.

The broader, more domestically focussed small- and mid-caps rose 0.2% each.

Affle rose 4%, and was among the top three small-cap gainers, after Citi started coverage with a “buy” rating, citing a steady earnings outlook and likely gains from recovery in digital advertisement spending.

Torrent Power gained 3.5%, and was among the top five mid-cap gainers, after agreeing with ARS Steels & Alloy International to set up solar power generating projects.

Rice companies LT Foods and KRBL jumped 8%-15% on a report that the government is considering relaxing restrictions on the export of some rice varieties.

Inox Wind gained 2.4% after winning an order for wind turbine generators in Gujarat and Rajasthan. (Reporting by Manvi Pant and Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)