Mumbai, February 18 – The Sensex and Nifty indices rose for the third consecutive trading day on Wednesday, driven by late-day buying in shares of banks, metal companies, and FMCG firms.
The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 283.29 points, or 0.34%, to close at 83,734.25. During the day, it touched an intraday high of 83,770.05.
The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 93.95 points, or 0.37%, to close at 25,819.35.
Among the Sensex companies, Tata Steel, ITC, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Trent, Sun Pharmaceuticals, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers.
On the other hand, companies like Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, IndiGo, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki India, PowerGrid, and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
"Indian markets witnessed a late surge driven by broad-based buying after a cautious start, as positive domestic sectoral cues helped offset lingering global uncertainties," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He added that banking and financial stocks remained resilient on the back of steady asset-quality expectations, while selective buying in FMCG names contributed to relative outperformance.
"In contrast, the IT sector continued to lag, weighed down by concerns over AI-led disruption and margin pressures, which kept investor sentiment subdued."
"On the earnings front, Q3FY26 results for the Nifty 500 were broadly in line with expectations, underscoring that while growth trends remain mixed, the domestic macro environment continues to offer medium-term stability," Nair said.
Broader indices also traded firm, with the BSE Smallcap Select Index rising 1.02% and the Midcap Select Index gaining 0.40%.
Among sectoral indices, PSU Bank rose by 1.41%, Metal by 1.24%, FMCG by 1.16%, Capital Goods by 0.89%, Industrials by 0.80%, Commodities by 0.78%, Bankex by 0.72%, Oil & Gas by 0.62%, Telecommunication by 0.59%, and Energy by 0.55%.
On the other hand, IT, Services, and Focused IT ended in the red.
A total of 2,237 stocks advanced, while 1,955 declined and 191 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Shares of ITC, Godfrey Phillips, and VST Industries surged by 20% amid reports that companies have implemented price hikes to pass on the impact of the recent excise duty increase to consumers.
The stock of Larsen & Toubro settled over 1% higher after the engineering major announced that it has teamed up with Nvidia to build India's largest Gigawatt-scale AI factory.
"Indian equity markets extended gains for the third consecutive session staging a gradual recovery, with the Nifty rising 0.4%, supported by strength in PSU and metal stocks. On the flows front, FIIs remained net buyers on Tuesday, purchasing equities worth Rs 995 crore, while DIIs also bought shares worth Rs 187 crore, providing support to sentiment," Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
According to Bajaj Broking, Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, supported by easing geopolitical tensions and lower volatility.
"Banking and financial counters remained resilient amid stable asset quality expectations, and selective buying in FMCG names aided outperformance. In contrast, IT stocks underperformed due to concerns over AI-led disruption and margin pressures, which weighed on sentiment," the brokerage firm said in a note.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark closed 1% higher.
Meanwhile, stock markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed on account of Lunar New Year holidays.
European markets were trading higher in mid-session deals. The US equities market settled in the positive territory on Tuesday.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 995.21 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 187.04 crore, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, went up by 0.33% to USD 67.64 per barrel.
On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 173.81 points to close at 83,450.96. The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 42.65 points to settle at 25,725.40.
