Stock markets extend winning run to third day; Sensex, Nifty climb nearly 1%
The Hindu
Stock markets continue to rise for the third day as Sensex and Nifty gain nearly 1%, fueled by IT stocks.
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly 1% higher on Wednesday (March 18, 2026), extending their winning run to the third day in a row, amid a slight drop in crude oil prices and a firm trend in global peers.
A rally in IT stocks also led to the optimistic trend in the domestic markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 633.29 points or 0.83% to settle at 76,704.13. During the day, it soared 929.38 points or 1.22% to 77,000.22.
The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 196.65 points or 0.83% to end at 23,777.80.
NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.10% to $103.3 per barrel.
OpenAI has signed a new deal to sell access to its AI models to U.S. defence and government agencies through Amazon’s cloud unit for classified and unclassified work, the ChatGPT maker said
Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that it expects to start volume production of Tesla’s chips
The Trump administration said in a Tuesday court filing that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic was justified and lawful
Mastercard Move aims to simplify cross-border payments for SMEs and students in India, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs.
SBI raises ₹6,051 crore through 10-year bonds, attracting strong investor demand with a 7.05% coupon rate.
In February, as per government data, domestic LPG production was slightly more than 1 million tonne.
Union Government urges States and UTs to expedite approval of gas pipeline projects to promote piped natural gas usage.
Parliamentary panel criticizes Ministry of Planning and Niti Aayog for persistent underutilization and poor financial management practices.
LPG consumption in India dropped 17.7% in March due to war-related supply disruptions, impacting household cooking gas availability.
LPG eKYC is required only for unauthenticated customers, clarifies the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
India's second LPG carrier, 'Nanda Devi', arrives at Gujarat's Vadinar port, carrying 46,500 metric tonnes of gas.
European publishers, tech firms and startups have urged EU antitrust regulators to wrap up a near two-year probe into Alphabet unit Google’s alleged favouring of its own services in online searches and impose a fine on the tech giant.
OpenAI is in advanced talks with private equity firms including TPG, Advent International, Bain Capital and Brookfield Asset Management to form a joint venture