Mumbai, May 27 (IANS): India equity benchmarks closed flat on Monday following sideways sentiment in the Market.

Sensex was closed at 75,390, down 19 points. During the session, Sensex touched the 76,000 mark for the first time and made a new all-time high of 76,009. The BSE benchmark has gained 1,000 points in just 31 trading sessions.

Nifty was down 24 points, at 22,932. During the session, the NSE benchmark crossed the 23,100 level for the first time.

More action was seen in midcap and smallcap compared to largecap. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 136 points or 0.81 per cent at 17,019 points and the Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 337 points or 0.64 per cent at 52,761 points.

18 out of 30 Sensex stocks closed in the red.

IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, L&T, and HCL Tech were the top gainers. Wipro, NTPC, Sun Pharma, M&M, ITC, and Reliance were the top losers.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities, said: "Nifty remained mostly volatile during the day as India awaits the final phase of the general election. The near-term outlook remains positive, with the index staying above the crucial moving averages. Support lies at 22,900, below which the index might slip towards 22,800. On the higher end, bears are active around 23,000-23,050."

He said that a decisive move above 23,050 might trigger a stronger rally towards higher levels.