Tyre maker Ceat Ltd. led peers higher on Tuesday as traders concentrated their buying energies on second rung stocks in a market where front line shares came under pressure.
Tyre stocks shot up between 1.3-10 percent compared with a 0.2 percent fall in the benchmark 51-share Nifty. The rally came in despite prices of natural rubber, the main raw material, quoting near 3-year highs. International rubber prices are informally benchmarked to global crude oil prices, which are in a strong uptrend.
Investors and traders remain bullish on the prospects of local tyre makers despite demonetization hitting factory demand and offtake of vehicles from showrooms.
As a consequence, Balkrishna Industries surged 10.3 per cent to 1,197 rupees. Ceat jumped 2.1 per cent to 1,212 rupees. Sector leader MRF gained 1.2 per cent, 53,740 rupees. TVS Srichakra rose 1.4% to 3,281 rupees.