New Delhi, May 14 -- Indian equities staged a strong comeback in Thursday's trade, May 14, with the benchmark indices settling over 1% higher, led by strong buying in pharma and metal stocks. A rebound in financial shares also supported the rally, bringing much-needed optimism back to Dalal Street.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee slipped to another record low of 95.9 against the US dollar during the session.

Both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex ended the session with gains of over 1%. The broader market, however, closed on a mixed note, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index surging 1.10%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended marginally lower with a 0.08% decline.

Among sectors, the Nifty Pharma index emerged as the top performer, surging 2.73%, ...