Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India’s equity benchmarks gained for a second session on Wednesday, as prospects of a West Asia (Middle East) ceasefire pulled crude oil prices lower and eased concerns around growth in the world’s third-biggest crude and gas importer.
Brent crude oil price tanked 5.07 percent to USD 99.19 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the Nifty50 rose 394.05 points (1.72 percent) to close at 23,306.45, while the BSE Sensex added 1205 points (1.63 percent) to settle at 75,273.45.
All sectoral indices on Dalal Street ended higher
Among the laggards were Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharat Electronics.
The Indian rupee closed at a record low of 94.05 against the US dollar.
Global markets also reacted positively to US President Donald Trump’s comments on Tuesday that Washington was making progress toward ending the war, although Iran said no talks had taken place.
The Indian benchmarks indices gained 3.5 percent in two days. They are down 7.4 percent so far in March 2026, with foreign investors offloading USD 11.37 billion worth of shares in their biggest monthly selloff on record.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps added 2.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, on Wednesday.
Asian markets also rose 1.7 percent, while oil hovered around USD 100 per barrel.
HDFC Bank, the heaviest stock on the Nifty, rose 2.3 percent, extending gains to the second session, after tapping external law firms to review its ex-chairman’s abrupt exit. It pushed financial stocks up 2.35 percent, their biggest daily gain in seven weeks.
HDFC had slumped 11.7 percent over the three sessions to Monday following its Chairman Atanu Chakraborty’s resignation