Stock markets rally in early trade

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Wednesday (March 18, 2026), building on gains of the past two trading sessions, amid a drop in crude oil prices and a firm trend in global peers.

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

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 518.84 points to 76,589.68 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 157.75 points to 23,738.90.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.46% to $101.9 per barrel.

“Despite the uncertainty regarding the war markets have staged a bounce back. One factor that enabled this bounce back is crude remaining around the USD 102 level and fears of spiking above $120 not materialising,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi jumped nearly 4%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed over 2 per cent, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index quoted marginally lower.

The U.S. market ended higher on Tuesday (March 17, 2026).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹4,741.22 crore on Tuesday (March 17, 2026), according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth ₹5,225.32 crore.

“On the institutional front, continued FII selling remains a challenge. However, strong and consistent buying from DIIs has been providing stability and cushioning the downside, which is a positive sign for the domestic market,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

On Tuesday (March 17, 2026), 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.