The Indian equity markets successfully completed a “hat-trick” of winning sessions on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, as the benchmark BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 surged to close in the green for the third straight day. The Sensex jumped 633.29 points, or 0.83 percent, to settle at 76,704.13, while the Nifty 50 advanced by 196.65 points, also 0.83 percent, to end the day at 23,777.80. This sustained recovery has significantly bolstered investor confidence, adding approximately ₹9.5 lakh crore to the total market capitalization of BSE-listed companies over the last three trading days. The rally was primarily fueled by a sharp rebound in IT, realty, and auto stocks, with the Nifty IT index snapping a six-day losing streak to record its strongest single-day performance in nearly ten months. Heavyweights such as Jio Financial Services, Tech Mahindra, and Eternal emerged as top gainers, while broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining between 1.5 and 2 percent.
The positive sentiment was largely driven by a combination of opportunistic value buying following a recent period of high volatility and constructive global cues. Overnight gains on Wall Street and firm trends across Asian markets—led by a 5 percent surge in South Korea’s Kospi—provided a stable foundation for the domestic surge. Furthermore, a slight easing in global crude oil prices, with Brent crude dipping toward the $103-per-barrel mark, offered much-needed relief to a market grappling with geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East. However, despite the bullish domestic trend, the Indian rupee remained under pressure, touching a record closing low of 92.63 against the US dollar. As the session concluded, market participants shifted their focus toward the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decision, where commentary on interest rate trajectories and the economic impact of global conflicts is expected to dictate the direction for the remainder of the week.
