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Nifty -1.87% but Midcap 100 +3.24% — breadth contradicted the index
Published by The Retail Trader · MAY 29, 2026 · Monthly Audit
The May 2026 audit shows something that headlines often miss: the index closed lower, but a large part of the market was higher.
19 sessions:
• Midcap 100 — +3.24%
• Nifty 500 — -0.12%, almost flat
• Bank Nifty — -1.14%
• Nifty 50 — -1.87%
• Sensex — -2.78%, the laggard
A gap of 5.1 percentage points between Nifty and Midcap is large for one month. The Sensex (30 stocks) fell the most and Midcap 100 rose the most — the smaller the basket, the worse the result; the wider the basket, the better. This is a classic breadth divergence.
Only two sectors positive:
• Metal — +4.7%
• Pharma — +4.6%
• IT — -0.9%
• Bank — -1.1%
• Realty — -1.4%
• Media — -3.3%
• FMCG — -3.3%
• PSU Bank — -3.8%
Six of the eight sectors were negative, and still Midcap 100 closed at +3.24%. This means the gain came from midcap names outside these eight sector indices.
India VIX from 14.98 to 19.63, close 16.19. Below April's 18.46 but still above the 12-14 zone from before March — the market had not fully let go of its fear of a crash.
All figures in this article are computed from The Retail Trader's own daily index database, up to 24 July 2026. Past performance is no indication of the future, and this analysis is for education only — it is not a buy or sell recommendation.