BENGALURU, June 26 Reuters India39;s bluechip Nifty 50 ended a touch higher on lasthour buying on Monday, lifted by gains in automakers after monsoons revived in some parts of the country, while midcap stocks climbed sharply.

The Nifty closed up 0.14 at 18,691.2, while the SP BSE Sensex dipped 0.01 to 62,970.00. However, the Nifty midcap 100 index climbed 0.9.

Domestic equities appeared to brush off worries of political instability in Russia and a subsequent rise in oil prices, after a shortlived mutiny by Russian mercenaries against Moscow.

Last week, the Nifty consolidated just shy of record levels, while the Sensex eased after hitting an alltime high, weighed down by hawkish central bank commentary.

The indexes struggled for direction for a large part of Monday39;s session, before seeing some buying led by automakers and pharmaceutical stocks.

A revival of monsoon in some parts of India will spur rural population39;s discretionary spending and increase the sale of especially twowheelers, said Rahul Sharma, market strategist and head of research at Equity99.

Twowheeler maker Hero MotoCorp gained 2.7, while Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki advanced more than 1.5 each.

The Nifty Pharma index advanced 1.5, with Nifty 50 stocks Divi39;s Lab and Cipla rising 2.1 and 3.3, respectively.

Shree Cement slumped 5.7 after an NDTV report said the company evaded taxes to the tune of 230 billion rupees, following surveys by the income tax department in the state of Rajasthan….