Market at Close | Bharat Forge, defence stocks rally as Midcap Index scales record high

The equity benchmark indices closed mixed on Thursday (May 7) after a volatile trading session, with the Nifty ending below the 24,350 mark even as midcap stocks outperformed and market breadth remained positive.

The Sensex fell 114 points to close at 77,845, while the Nifty slipped 4 points to settle at 24,327. The Nifty Bank index gained 66 points to end at 56,047.

The midcap index surged 676 points to close at a record 62,003, crossing the 62,000 mark for the first time. Market breadth remained positive, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 2:1 in favour of advances.

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From the Sensex basket, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Grasim Industries Ltd, NTPC Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd were the major gainers. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd, Titan Company Ltd and ITC Ltd were the biggest laggards.

Defence stocks emerged as the top-performing sectoral pack during the session. Shares of Paras Defence and Space Technologies rose nearly 9%, while midcap gainers included Paytm, Polycab India, Bharat Forge, Bharat Dynamics

and CG Power and Industrial Solutions.

Among individual stocks, Bajaj Auto rose nearly 3% after reporting strong fourth-quarter results and announcing a share buyback. Bharat Forge jumped nearly 7% following its quarterly earnings.

Hero MotoCorp extended gains from the previous session and climbed over 3% after strong management commentary.

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On the downside, Coal India ended lower following reports of a potential government stake sale. Godrej Consumer Products fell more than 5%, while Meeshogained 2% after its quarterly results. Among Nifty losers, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Titan Company and ITC ended lower.