Sensex ends 77 points higher after recovery from day’s lows; Midcaps underperform

The equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty staged a recovery from the day’s lows to close near the flatline on Monday (May 18), while broader markets underperformed and market breadth remained tilted in favour of declines.The Sensex rose 77 points to close at 75,315, while the Nifty gained 6 points to settle at 23,650. The Nifty Bank index slipped 173 points to 53,537, while the Midcap index declined 93 points to 60,474. The rupee hit a record intraday low of 96.39 against the US dollar during the session. Market breadth remained weak, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 1:3.

Also Read: Record low Rupee boosts IT stocks, triggers stock market recovery
From the Sensex basket, Tech Mahindra Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd were the major gainers. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd, State Bank of India, Bajaj Auto Ltd, NTPC Ltd and Trent Ltd were the biggest laggards.Among individual stocks, Gland Pharma Ltd surged 15% after reporting strong fourth-quarter results, with net profit rising more than 86% year-on-year. Tata Steel Ltd fell by over 3% despite reporting strong Q4 results. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd declined 4% after promoter Prudential Plc announced plans to cut its stake.

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The Nifty IT index closed higher for the second straight session, with all constituents ending in the green. Hindustan Copper Ltd gained 2% after reporting strong Q4 results, with revenue rising 58% year-on-year.