New Delhi, July 31 -- Following a range-bound session, Indian equities ended the final trading day of July with modest gains, as strength in financial and auto stocks offset profit booking in information technology shares.

The Nifty 50 closed 0.20% higher at 24,336, while the Sensex advanced 0.21% to settle at 78,091. The broader markets also mirrored the positive trend, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices rising more than 0.5% each, outperforming the benchmark indices.

Both benchmark indices have gained around 2% this month, as resilient June-quarter corporate earnings, central bank measures to support the rupee, and the return of foreign investor inflows after four months outweighed concerns over volatile crude oi...