Indian equity benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, continued their upward trend and started the trading session on a positive note on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, amid positive global cues as oil prices paused their gains despite the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war. While the 30-share BSE Sensex added 296.71 points or 0.39 per cent to start the session at 76,367.55, the Nifty gained 51.75 points to open at 23,632.90. In the last trading session, the Sensex closed at 76,070.84 and the Nifty 50 at 23,581.15. Similarly, the broader indices traded in the green in the opening session. While the BSE Midcap Select Index added 60.91 points, or 0.40 per cent, in the early trading session, the BSE Smallcap Select Index was up by 17,57 points or 0.24 per cent, to trade at 7,250.15.
In early trade, market breadth was positive, with 2,103 stocks advancing against 377 stocks declining on the NSE. 67 stocks remained unchanged.
“For day traders, 23,350 and 23,300/75500-75300 will act as important support zones. Above these levels, the pullback could continue towards 23,800/76500. The uptrend could continue, taking the index to 24,000/77,000. On the other hand, below 23,300/75,300, sentiment could change. If the index breaks below 23,300, it could decline again to 23,000 or 22,850,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.
What did Gift Nifty indicate?
Gift Nifty, an early indicator for the Nifty 50, indicated a flat opening as it opened with a dip of 3 points at 23,579, compared to the previous close of 23,582. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak and offloaded equities worth Rs 4,741 crore on March 13, 2026. However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) largely offset the outflows with purchases of Rs 5,225 crore.
Asian Markets Today
Asian stocks rallied on Wednesday as oil prices paused their gains and US stocks held steadier. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1,244.61 points or 2.32 per cent to trade at 54,945. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by 39.54 points or 0.15 points. South Korea’s Kospi traded in the green with a gain of 215.13 points at the time of writing the report. Shanghai’s SSE Composite index was down by 16.29 points or 0.40 per cent.
