Stock markets extend winning run to third day; Sensex, Nifty climb nearly 1%

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly 1% higher on Wednesday (March 18, 2026), extending their winning run to the third day in a row, amid a slight drop in crude oil prices and a firm trend in global peers.

A rally in IT stocks also led to the optimistic trend in the domestic markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 633.29 points or 0.83% to settle at 76,704.13. During the day, it soared 929.38 points or 1.22% to 77,000.22.

The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 196.65 points or 0.83% to end at 23,777.80.

NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.10% to $103.3 per barrel.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi jumped 5% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 2.87%. Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also ended higher.

Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory.

The U.S. market ended higher on Tuesday (March 17).

“Domestic markets extended their recovery, supported by opportunistic buying after the recent sell-off. The rebound was broad-based, driven by a combination of short covering and value buying, with leadership from IT, realty, and auto sectors, alongside strength in mid and smallcap stocks,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹4,741.22 crore on Tuesday (March 17), according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth ₹5,225.32 crore.

On Tuesday (March 17), the Sensex jumped 567.99 points, or 0.75%, to settle at 76,070.84. The Nifty climbed 172.35 points, or 0.74%, to end at 23,581.15.