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Equity benchmarks continue to trade in positive terrain
Mar-18-2026

Local equity benchmarks continued to trade in positive terrain in morning session with Sensex and Nifty were trading above 76,550 and 23,700 marks, respectively, amid a drop in crude oil prices and a firm trend in global peers. A sharp rally in IT and TECK stocks also led to the optimistic trend in the domestic markets. Traders took support with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the domestic production of LPG is being ramped up to ensure cooking gas supply to households during turbulent times amid the West Asia crisis. 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, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as investors took their cue from another positive session on Wall Street.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76552.27, up by 481.43 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 76187.92 and 76609.46. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.58%, TECK up by 2.74%, Auto up by 1.76%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.71% and Telecom up by 1.45%, while Metal down by 0.49% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 3.80%, HCL Technologies up by 3.61%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.61%, TCS up by 3.21% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.60%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.08%, ICICI Bank down by 0.81%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.50%, NTPC down by 0.27% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan has said that the digital economy in India is likely to account for around 20 per cent of country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030. driven by a growth rate that is double that of the broader economy. Krishnan stated that digital economy, comprising information technology (IT), IT-enabled services, and electronics sector, currently contributes about 13 per cent to the India's GDP.

He noted this upward trajectory will be further accelerated by the increased adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across sectors. Highlighting India's expanding global technology footprint, he stated that the country has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with over 53 nations to facilitate the worldwide expansion of its successful Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) model. These agreements span countries across the Global South, as well as several nations in Europe and Russia.

He said India has created a model for applying AI research into DPIs to create affordable and scalable solutions for the world. Under the India AI Mission, AI compute infrastructure is now being provided to domestic innovators, entrepreneurs, and researchers at one-third of prevailing market prices. Additionally, more than 10,000 datasets and homegrown AI models have been made available. He asserted that India’s software services exports, currently hovering around $250 billion, will not shrink but will undergo a structural shift.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23735.85, up by 154.70 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 23618.45 and 23754.65. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 3.77%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.64%, HCL Technologies up by 3.62%, TCS up by 3.18% and Wipro up by 2.89%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.89%, Hindalco down by 1.02%, HDFC Bank down by 1.02%, ICICI Bank down by 0.81% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1443.61 points or 2.69% to 55,144.00, Taiwan Weighted added 407.51 points or 1.2% to 34,244.08, Jakarta Composite gained 84.55 points or 1.19% to 7,106.84, KOSPI increased 220.03 points or 3.9% to 5,860.51 and Straits Times rose 50.02 points or 1.01% to 4,985.99.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.3 points or 0.35% to 4,035.61 and Hang Seng declined 36.54 points or 0.14% to 25,832.00.
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