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Sensex, Nifty trade higher with notable gains amid fall in crude prices
Mar-18-2026

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start on Wednesday tracking gains in global peers and decline in crude prices in the international markets. Sensex and Nifty were trading higher in early deals with notable gains on account of buying in almost all the sector stocks led by IT and TECK. Some support came as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) injected Rs 48,014 crore in transient liquidity into the banking system through a seven-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction. Besides, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the domestic production of LPG is being ramped up to ensure cooking gas supply to households during turbulent times amid the West Asia crisis. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as oil prices eased signalling a relief from worries of spiralling inflation. Back home, on the sectoral front, sugar sector stocks were in focus as industry body ISMA said that India's sugar production reached 26.21 million tonne so far in the ongoing 2025-26 marketing year, up by 10.5 per cent from the year-ago period.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76513.65, up by 442.81 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 76187.92 and 76609.46. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.17%, TECK up by 2.38%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.63%, Auto up by 1.48% and Industrials up by 1.45%, while Metal down by 0.51% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 3.13%, TCS up by 3.04%, HCL Technologies up by 2.89%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.49% and Eternal up by 2.32%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.15%, ICICI Bank down by 0.87%, Tata Steel down by 0.49% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid the crisis in West Asia, a major source of India’s energy procurement, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has held high-level talks with his counterparts from the 27 member states of the European Union in Brussels, discussing its ripple effects on global energy security. Both sides underlined the need for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis. The minister highlighted the strong momentum following the India–EU Summit in January and called for unlocking the full potential of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as well as deepening defence industrial collaboration and maritime cooperation under the security and defence partnership. He also emphasized the need to transform the India-EU Trade and Technology Council into a more outcome-driven forum.

Global oil and gas prices have surged after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Iran moved to virtually block the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). It was the first high-level visit from India to the Brussels-headquartered European Union after the two sides firmed up a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU leadership in January. Jaishankar visited the Belgian capital at the invitation of EU foreign and security policy chief Kaja Kallas to attend a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, which comprises the foreign ministers of the bloc. He also held separate meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and his counterparts from EU member states such as Germany and Belgium.

Both sides reaffirmed their shared ambition to further elevate India-EU cooperation to a higher strategic level. They also underlined the importance of regular consultations on key global and regional issues, including the Indo-Pacific. Jaishankar also held separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands. India-EU relations have entered a phase of renewed strategic momentum, with both sides intensifying engagement on the implementation of the ‘Towards 2030: A Joint India-EU Comprehensive Strategic Agenda’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23724.35, up by 143.20 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 23618.45 and 23754.65. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 3.17%, HCL Technologies up by 3.01%, TCS up by 3.01%, JIO Financial Services up by 2.82% and Wipro up by 2.61%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.41%, HDFC Bank down by 1.21%, ICICI Bank down by 0.85%, Hindalco down by 0.67% and Tata Steel down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1383.61 points or 2.58% to 55,084.00, Taiwan Weighted jumped 565.59 points or 1.67% to 34,402.16, KOSPI rose 218.85 points or 3.88% to 5,859.33 and Straits Times increased 50.07 points or 1.01% to 4,986.04. On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 36.54 points or 0.14% to 25,832.00 and Shanghai Composite was down by 16.29 points or 0.4% to 4,033.62.
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