Stock markets rally in early trade
The Hindu
Stock markets rally with Sensex and Nifty gaining, despite HDFC Bank and others lagging behind amid falling crude prices.
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Wednesday (March 18, 2026), building on gains of the past two trading sessions, amid a drop in crude oil prices and a firm trend in global peers.
A sharp rally in IT stocks also led to the optimistic trend in the domestic markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 518.84 points to 76,589.68 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 157.75 points to 23,738.90.
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the laggards.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.46% to $101.9 per barrel.
"Despite the uncertainty regarding the war markets have staged a bounce back. One factor that enabled this bounce back is crude remaining around the USD 102 level and fears of spiking above $120 not materialising," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
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
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose as much as 5% on Tuesday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the South Korean company was producing Nvidia’s new artificial intelligence chips.
Stock markets rebound after early losses, with Sensex and Nifty rising amid global bullish trends despite notable laggards.
The rupee declines 14 paise to 92.42 against the dollar amid rising crude prices and foreign fund withdrawals.
Dell’s total workforce declined by about 10%, or 11,000 employees, in fiscal 2026, it said on Monday
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang on Monday said the leading artificial intelligence chip maker is heading for space with a goal of powering orbiting data centres.
Meta Platforms shares rose nearly 3% on Monday after a Reuters report that the social media giant plans to lay off 20% or more of its workforce to offset heavy spending
Wholesale price inflation hits 11-month high at 2.13%, driven by rising crude prices and increased costs across various sectors.
Kerala's wellness sector faces uncertainty due to the West Asian crisis, impacting tourism and threatening economic stability.