New Delhi

Morethan half of the BSE 500 basket stocks underperformed the broader market in July, with 280 companies posting declines of up to 22 per cent despite benchmark indices ending the month in positive territory.

According to exchange data, the underperforming stocks accounted for nearly 87 per cent of the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies and recorded gains of less than 1 per cent during the month.

While BSE Sensex, BSE 500 and BSE Midcap indices gained between 1 per cent and 2 per cent, the BSE Smallcap index slipped 0.1 per cent.

Moreover, Nifty 50, Nifty Midcap 100, Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty 500 indices also ended July higher, rising between 1.4 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

Among the major losers, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Bandhan Bank, Thermax, Tejas Networks, Suzlon Energy, GE Vernova T&D India, Siemens Energy India and Gujarat Energy declined between 15 per cent and 20 per cent during the month.

Many analysts attributed the outperformance of select stocks to better-than-expected June-quarter earnings and renewed buying in information technology shares.

The BSE Information Technology index was the top-performing sector, rising 16 per cent, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables -- 9.4 per cent, Nifty Realty -- 8.4 per cent and Nifty Auto -- 5.9 per cent. Additionally, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers during July, investing Rs 15,412 crore, ending a four-month selling streak, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained supportive with net inflows of Rs 32,839 crore, helping benchmark indices stay resilient despite broad-based weakness in individual stocks. On Friday, domestic equity benchmarks extended their gains for a third consecutive session amid buying in auto and financial services stocks. Sensex settled 166.49 points or 0.21 per cent higher at 78,094.64, while Nifty ended 66.45 points or 0.27 per cent up to close at 24,383.60.