On Wednesday, August 31, Indian equities headed higher on the heels of a surge in automotive stocks and consumer staples. Recapping the indices, the Nifty 50 advanced 0.48% to 8,786.20, and the BSE Sensex 30 Index ticked up 0.39% to 28,452.17. Notably, the Nifty 50 soared to a 52-week high. The day’s standout gainers were UltraTech (+3.52%), Kotak Mahindra (+2.64%) and Larsen & Toubro (+2.53%).On the downside, the laggards were led by Bosch (-2.29%), Oil & Gas Corp. (-2.23%) andHindalcoInd. (-2.15%). As noted above, auto makers outperformed, with Maruti Suzuki India shares touching a new all-time high, while Tata Motors stocks reached a 16-month high. Hero MotoCorp. and Bajaj Auto also set fresh records. Asian Paints and UltraTech Cement shares advanced to new highs. Indian consumer goods company Marico jumped 1.9%, recording the biggest daily percentage gain since August 11. Among the day’s standout gainers, RBL Bank added a whopping 31% to its market cap during the debut trading session. In the currency market, the USD/INR pair weakened 0.35% to 66.910, while EUR/INR fell 0.3% to 74.5980. Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India Vix, which tracks options on the Fifty 50, jumped 1.71% to 13.2425. From a technical standpoint, the daily chart shows that the BSE Sensex 30 has traded within an ascending wedge, and so far there have been no signs of a breakout.