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EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
Mar-18-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended near day’s high points on Wednesday, with the both Nifty and Sensex extending gains for a third consecutive day, supported by broad-based buying across sectors led by IT stocks. Markets made an optimistic start and maintained their upward momentum throughout the day, tracking gains in global markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Jaishankar holds talks with EU counterparts in Brussels: Traders took note of report that 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. 

RBI injects RS 48,014 crore via 7-Day VRR auction: 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. 

India’s digital economy to contribute nearly 20% of GDP by 2030: Traders took a note of Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan’s statement that India's digital economy is projected to account for nearly 20 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030, driven by a growth rate that is double that of the broader economy. 

On the global front: European equity markets traded in the green ahead of the release of Eurozone inflation data and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Asian markets ended in the green, supported by a sharp decline in oil prices.

The BSE Sensex ended at 76704.13, up by 633.29 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 76187.92 and 77000.22. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.82%, Realty up by 2.67%, Telecom up by 2.44%, TECK up by 2.38% and Consumer discretionary up by 2.08%, while Metal down by 0.09% was the only losing index on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 3.47%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.81%, Infosys up by 2.76%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.73% and HCL Technologies. up by 2.62%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.07%, NTPC down by 1.03%, Sun Pharma down by 0.87%, HDFC Bank down by 0.42% and ITC down by 0.28% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data report has showed that Indian companies raised a total of $5.33 billion from overseas markets during the month of January 2026, through External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) and Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs).

The report further noted that the automatic route accounted for $4.18 billion, while the approval route contributed $1.15 billion. Under the approval route, Export-Import Bank of India led with raising $1000 million for on-lending or sub-lending, while NTPC raised $152.16 million for refinancing of rupee loans.

The borrowings spanned multiple sectors, including financial services; manufacturing of machinery, metals, chemicals, and vehicles; Energy and infrastructure. Key purposes of these borrowings included on-lending or sub-lending, working capital, new projects, refinancing, import of capital goods and modernisation of operations.

The CNX Nifty ended at 23777.80, up by 196.65 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 23618.45 and 23862.25. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were JIO Financial Services up by 4.46%, Eternal up by 3.46%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.05%, Infosys up by 2.74% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.74%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.27%, Coal India down by 1.09%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.06%, Cipla down by 1.05% and Sun Pharma down by 0.90% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; France’s CAC rose 79.51 points or 1% to 8,054.00, Germany’s DAX gained 209.38 points or 0.88% to 23,940.30 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 31.07 points or 0.3% to 10,434.67.

Asian markets settled higher on Wednesday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight. Investors were focusing on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming remarks for guidance on the Fed's stance regarding inflation, the labour market, and future rate paths. Risk appetite was also lifted by reports that Nvidia has secured approval from both the US and Chinese governments to sell and import its advanced H200 AI chips in the Chinese mainland, a significant reversal following over a year of tight restrictions. Japanese shares rose, with technology shares lead the rebound. Further, Japan’s exports rose 4.2% YoY to 9,571.6 billion Yen in February 2026. Indonesian market was closed for Hindu Saka New Year holidays and resume on March 25.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,062.98

13.08

0.32

Hang Seng

26,025.42

156.88

0.61

Jakarta Composite

--

--

--

KLSE Composite

1,729.81

18.82

1.10

Nikkei 225

55,239.40

1,539.01

2.87

Straits Times

5,002.17

66.20

1.34

KOSPI Composite

5,925.03

284.55

5.04

Taiwan Weighted

34,348.58

512.01

1.51
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