Rising India vehicle sales lend new power to auto stocks

Auto stocks have been actively supporting the Indian stock market since the past two days, following healthy sales growth reported by a few listed automobile players in August 2014.

Primarily, heavyweights like Maruti Suzuki India, Hero Motocorp and TVS Motor Co have driven sentiment in the Indian stock market's auto sector basket, says brokers.

Many of the listed vehicle makers fared well in August, which saw the festival season commence with Gokulashtami, now underway with Ganesh Chathurthi and followed by Diwali in October. The festive season from August to January typically records bumper discounts from two- and four-wheeler OEMs every year.

Along with rising vehicle sales, industry sentiment has also turned bullish as foreign capital inflows picked up after economic growth has improved to a two-and-a-half-year high of 5.7 percent in the April-June quarter this year, up from 4.7 percent recorded for the same period in the previous fiscal. This is as per data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The stock market also got a boost after prime minister Narendra Modi promised, this Monday, to remove roadblocks to foreign investment and said that the economy is out of a difficult situation and more reforms are in the pipeline.

Continuing their record-setting streak, markets on Tuesday hit new highs. At 1.45pm today, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex touched the 27,000-mark while the Nifty climbed to 8,092.60 on sustained capital inflows buoyed by positive economic data.

Yesterday HeroMoto Corp was the biggest sensex gainer as it jumped 5.79 percent while Maruti too climbed 4.71 percent to touch Rs 2,925. The company posted a 26.9 percent increase in sales in August 2014 and has also opened bookings for the premium Ciaz sedan.

Two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp too reaped benefits as its share gained by 1.73 percent, rising to Rs 2,807 compared to its opening levels of Rs 2,776. As per its filing with the BSE, Hero Motocorp said its August sales grew by 21 percent to touch 558,609 units. It expressed its confidence of keeping up this growth momentum heading into the festive season, with as many as 10 new launches – including new models, upgrades and refreshes – during this period. The new Splendor Pro Classic will be available in dealerships across the country in the coming weeks, it added.

Meanwhile, TVS Motor’s stocks rose by 3 percent to Rs 199.20 from its opening of Rs 196.90. It recorded 46 percent growth in sales in August, with total sales increasing to 227,482 units. Of this, its two-wheeler sales climbed up by 47 percent to 217,662 units while three-wheeler retail increased by 39 percent to 9,820 units.

Bajaj Auto’s shares too rose by 0.83 to Rs 2,281. In August, its  total sales including two-wheelers and CVs rose to 336,840 units in August 2014 from 312,188 units in the same period year ago. The company is hopeful of touching 400,000 unit sales this month.