Late surge in share prices helps markets improve returns scorecard in May

A sharp surge in share prices during the last week of May helped the markets improve their returns scorecard for the month. The benchmark Sensex and Nifty ended with losses of 3.8% and 2.8%

The broader markets outperformed marginally. At the end of last week, the Sensex was down nearly 10 per cent for the month, making India one of the worst-performing markets globally.

The highlight was the sell-off in banking stocks, with the Bank Nifty crashing over 20 per cent at one point.

It managed to recoup half the losses, to end 10.4 per cent down. The list of worst-performing Nifty stocks was dominated by banks, though stocks that gained were from diverse sectors.

The monthly foreign inflow tally turned positive for the first time since January. However, the bulk of the inflows were on account of large share sales, such as those of HUL and Airtel.