New Delhi, May 1 -- As the Indian stock market steps into the month of May, investors may want to pay closer attention to a subtle but recurring phenomenon: seasonality - a pattern of returns that tends to repeat at specific times of the year. An analysis by JM Financial reveals that Indian stock market indices, sectors, and select stocks often display consistent trends in the fifth month of the year.

Over the past decade, the Nifty 50 has delivered positive returns in May six out of ten times, with an average return of 1.5% and a median return of 2%. The Nifty Mid-cap index mirrors this trend with green closes in six years, but with slightly lower gains - average return of 0.4% and median return of 1.2%.

Interestingly, the Mid-cap inde...