Mumbai, The bencmark index of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) recovered on Monday by 160.48 points to end positive at 38,896.71 on renewed buying in Pharma and IT stocks amid firm cues from global peers as well as ease in inflation. The Nifty of National Stock Exchange (NSE) too edged higher by 35.85 points to 11,588.35.

The Sensex, which had slid by 86.88 points on Friday, opened higher  by 173 points to 39,009.95 in the morning trade. It then oscillated in the range of 39,023.97 and 38,696.60 during the day, before closing at 38,896.71, rising by 160.48 versus its previous close. The gains in sectoral indices like Materials, Health Care, IT, Auto and Telecom pushed the market up today, along with scrips of  Infosys, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, TCS and Tech Mahindra.

While, the sell-off in IndusInd Bank, L&T, ITC and ICICI Bank capped  the market’s further gains, brokers informed.  On the macro front, the annual rate of inflation, based on monthly  Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 2.02 per cent in June 2019, compared with 2.45 pc in the previous month and 5.68 pc during th
corresponding month of the previous year, according to the data announced during the market hours.

The broader markets underperformed the Sensex, as the S&P BSE  Mid-Cap index and Small-Cap shed by 0.61 per cent and 0.63 pc,  respectively. The market breadth was negative on BSE, as 891 shares advanced against 1,578 declined and 164 were unchanged.  Elsewhere in the world, the US stocks closed at record highs on Friday after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted at  possible interest rate cut at the end of the month.