Maruti Suzuki shares close up 8%; mcap rises by Rs 7,640 crore

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday surged nearly 8%, adding Rs 7,640 crore to its market capitalisation, on value buying even as the company's domestic sales increased only marginally in February. 

A day after falling almost 5%, the stock advanced by 7.80% to settle at Rs 3,495.50 on BSE. Intra-day, it jumped 8.23% to Rs 3,509.50. On NSE, shares of the company went up by 7.96% to close at Rs 3,494.40.

The company's market valuation rose by Rs 7,640.08 crore to Rs 1,05,592.08 crore. A day after the Budget, the broader market also staged a comeback, with the Sensex surging 777.35 points to end at
23,779.35. MSI on Tuesday reported a marginal decline in total sales in February at 1,17,451 units as against 1,18,551 units in the same month last year.

Its domestic sales however increased during the month to 1,08,115 units as against 1,07,892 units in February 2015. "During the month, the reservation agitation had disrupted component supplies, causing a temporary suspension of production by the company. Total production loss due to this was over 10,000 units. Despite that, the company was able to achieve marginal growth in domestic sales," MSI said.

That apart, car prices are set to go up, ranging from Rs 2,000 on mass market vehicles to over Rs 1 lakh on big diesel SUVs and sedans as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley decided to levy 'infrastructure cess' of up to 4%.

Singling out diesel vehicles, in the aftermath of pollution problems in the national capital, Jaitley decided to impose 2.5% cess on diesel vehicles of length not exceeding 4 meter and engine capacity not exceeding 1,500cc, while higher engine capacity and SUVs and bigger sedans were slapped a cess of 4% on the value of the car.