The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 Indexes posted their worst monthly performance in July in 10 months. Imposition of higher tax on the super rich, slowing economy and consumption and an ongoing credit crisis among non-bank finance lenders have spooked the investor sentiment, say analysts. In July the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 4.86 per cent and the Nifty 50 Index plunged 5.69 per cent making it the worst month for Sensex since October 2018 and worst for Nifty since September 2018 when defaults at IL&FS surfaced.

Hurt by the higher tax incidence on the super rich, foreign investors sold shares in Indian markets and till yesterday they had sold shares worth Rs 12,718.20 crore in July, data compiled by NSDL showed.

In today's session, the benchmarks rebounded from a two-day losing streak led by gains in IndusInd Bank, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India. However, the upside was capped as Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and the HDFC twins witnessed selling pressure.

The Sensex ended 0.22 per cent or 84 points higher at 37,481.12 and the Nifty advanced 0.29 per cent or 33 points to 11,118.

Eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Metal Index's 2.4 per cent decline. Nifty PSU Bank, Pharma and Auto sector gauges also ended over 1 per cent higher.

Mid- and small-cap shares witnessed buying interest as the Nifty Midcap 100 Index rose 1.4 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 Index advanced 0.41 per cent.

IndusInd Bank was top gainer in the Nifty 50 basket of shares, the stock rose 5.29 per cent to Rs 1,408. Tata Steel, Yes Bank, Indian Oil, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma, UPL and JSW Steel were also among the gainers.

On the flipside, Zee Entertainment, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra and NTPC were among losers.

The overall market breadth was neutral as 920 shares closed lower while 866 ended higher on the NSE.