Sensex Breaks 5-Day Losing Streak, Nifty Soars. Know Everything About the Equity Markets Today

Indian benchmark indices cheered with gains on March 17, closing higher by 0.5% following sharp upmove in global equities and heightened buying in banking stocks.

BSE Sensex jumped by 341.04 points or 0.46% to end at 74,169.95, thereby breaking the five-day losing streak. During the intra-day trade, the 30-share barometer jumped by 547.44 points or 0.74% to 74,376.35.

NSE Nifty soared by 111.55 points or 0.50% to 22,508.75.

Shares of Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Zomato and UltraTech Cement emerged as the biggest gainers in the Sensex, while ITC, Nestle, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and Tata Consultancy Services had a poor run.

IndusInd Bank jumped by 5.30% in intra-day trade after the Reserve Bank of India stepped in to assure that the firm remains ‘well-capitalised’. The banking regulator directed the company’s board to complete remedial action relating to an estimated ₹2,100 crore accounting discrepancy within this month. Shares of IndusInd Bank ended at 676.95, up 0.72%.

In the Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong eked out significant gains, while European exchanges traded in green. The U.S. markets reported substantial gains on Friday.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said, “Despite a small hiccup, markets quickly gained ground to trade in positive territory as optimism across global markets aided recovery in local indices. However, with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the impact of US tariff policies on key economies, including India, investors would be watchful of the global events before taking any call.”

Wholesale price inflation shot up marginally by 2.38% in February owing to expensive manufactured food items like vegetables oil and beverages, government data showed.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) dumped Indian equities worth ₹792.90 crore on March 13, Exchange data revealed.

So far in 2025, outflow by Indian investors clocked ₹1.42 lakh crore (USD) 16.5 billion.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said, “The market experienced a positive trading session, driven by strong performance in the healthcare and financial sectors. However, lower participation from domestic investors due to tariff-related uncertainties may cause the market to fluctuate within a range in the near term.”

A decisive momentum can only be determined by the signs of earnings growth. However, improving domestic indicators indicate a potential recovery, Nair said.

“Investors are closely monitoring the upcoming FED and BOJ meetings, with expectations leaning towards maintaining the current stance due to inflation risks associated with tariff uncertainties,” Nair added.

Brent Crude Oil surged by 1.06% to $71.33 a barrel.

On March 13, Sensex dipped by 200.85 points or 0.27% to end at 73,828.91, while Nifty fell by 73.30 points or 0.33% to settle at 22,397.20.