Mumbai, February 18 The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, extended their gains for the third consecutive trading day on Wednesday, driven by late-day buying in shares of banks, metals, and FMCG companies.
The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 283.29 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 83,734.25 in a volatile trading session. During the day, it reached a high of 83,770.05.
The 50-share NSE Nifty gained 93.95 points, or 0.37 percent, 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, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, IndiGo, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki India, PowerGrid, and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
"The 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 due to expectations of steady asset quality, 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," Nair said.
"On the earnings front, the 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.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark closed 1 percent higher.
Meanwhile, stock markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
European markets were trading higher in the mid-session. The US equity market closed in 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, rose by 0.33 percent 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.
