M&M, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors and Bajaj Finserv were the top gainers on the BSE Sensex. SBI, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Zomato and Ultratech were the major losers

Equity benchmarks rise in afternoon trade, Sensex at 78,788.13, Nifty at 23,846.35, auto and banking stocks lead gains.

January typically tends to be a slower month according to the past decade’s seasonality, with Nifty often closing in the red 70 per cent of the time.